Prayer is an important aspect in the Christian faith as it
is with most other religions. Prayer is the communication process to talk to
God. It is our direct access to Him as we seek His guidance, His revelation,
and provision for our needs and desires. He wants us to communicate with Him.
He wants us to come to Him with all our fears, needs, wants and desires.
Examples of prayers are found throughout the Old and New Testaments. People
make prayer very complicated, but it is truly very simple. Prayer is like
talking with your best friend. Just talk. There’s no formula, no right or
wrong, just talk and let God know what is on our minds and hearts. What are the
basics of prayer? What are examples of prayers in the Bible and how can we use
them for our own prayers? What did Jesus teach about prayer?
Many people struggle with what to say in prayer. First, seek
forgiveness of your sins. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so
that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
Second, tell God about our needs and
fears. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for
you.” Many of my prayers start with speaking to God about my fears and anxiety.
Third, pray for each other. In John 17, Jesus prayed. He prayed for himself
(verses 1-5) and the completion of his mission on Earth. He prayed for his
disciples (verses 6-19). He prayed for you and me (verses 20-25) and that we
would be an example of God so that the world would believe (verse 21). Lastly, thank God for sending His Son Jesus
Christ as John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Many people also struggle with how to pray. First, pray with confidence.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence.” Second,
pray with joy. Acts 2:28, Peter quotes David (Psalm 16:11), “you will fill me
with joy in your presence.” Third, pray with expectation. Psalm 5:3 says “In
the morning, O Lord. You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before
you and wait in expectation. Fourth, pray with faith. Hebrews 11: 6 says “And
without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Lastly, pray in worship and reverence. Psalm 99:5 says “Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool; he is holy.”
There are many examples of prayers in the Bible. When you
look at the reasons for their prayers, you can see that they prayed for the
same reasons we do. Hannah prayed for a son (1 Samuel 1:11) and she prayed in
gratitude when her son was born (1 Samuel 2:1-10). David prayed for guidance (1
Samuel 23:2), for revelation (1 Samuel 23:2) and for forgiveness (2 Samuel
24:10). Solomon prayed for wisdom (1 Kings 3:6-9) and Elijah prayed for fire
from heaven (1 Kings 18:36-37). For me, Job’s prayers are some of the most
relatable because Job went through trials in his life he didn’t deserve. He
turned to God in grief. Job 1:20-22, he prayed in worship, “Naked I came from
my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken
away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Despite his intense grief, Job
recognized the Lord’s sovereignty. He prayed to compliant and seek relief and
forgiveness (Job 7:17-21, 9:25-10:22, 14:13-22). He prayed to confess. In Job
40:3-5, Job answered the Lord, “I am unworthy- how can I reply to you? I put my
hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer- twice, but I will say
no more.” He prayed in repentance. In Job 42:1-6, Job says he knows that God
can do all things and that Job spoke of things he did not understand. With
Job’s example, we can come to God with anything. We can question him “why?” We can
rant and rave about the trials we are going through and trust that God will
answer us. When we pray with requests, God always answers. Sometimes he says
yes, and the request is fulfilled. Sometimes he says no, replying that his
grace is enough (2 Corinthians 12:9). Sometimes he says not yet, and the
fulfillment is delayed.
Another example of prayer is through Jesus. The Gospels
gives many examples of when Jesus prayed, some of them I mentioned above. He
taught how to pray in Matthew 6:5-15. He said to pray quietly and unseen
(Matthew 6:6). He said to pray simply and directly, not to babble with many
words (Matthew 6:7). Matthew 6:9-13 has been called The Lord’s Prayer: “Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from the evil one.” The Lord’s Prayer gives us a pattern to pray.
First, praise God. “Our Father in heaven” not only acknowledges that God is
holy but also personal and loving. It is a statement of praise and commitment
to honor God’s holy name. Second, praying for his work in heaven and on earth.
“Kingdom come,” his spiritual reign. “Your will be done,” is not a resignation
to our fates but praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished.
Third, prayers for our daily needs. “Give us today our daily bread”
acknowledges that God is our sustainer and provider. We trust God daily to
provide what he knows we need. Fourth, we pray for forgiveness. “Forgive us our
debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” is to remind us that when we seek
forgiveness, we must also forgive those who hurt us. Lastly, prayers for help
in our daily struggles. “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the
evil one” is a prayer for deliverance. God doesn’t lead us into temptation, but
he allows us to be tested (Job is a great example). We ask God to help us
recognize temptation and to give us the strength to overcome it.
In conclusion, the exact words of the prayers are not what
is important. It is the motivation behind it. Prayers help us communicate with
God. Prayers help us bring our thoughts, our troubles, our worries, our wants
and desires to Him. And if it is in His will for your life, he will grant it
right away or in the future. Prayer is to repent and seek forgiveness. Prayer
is for comfort and strength. People may say that repeating certain prayers is
how you pray and if you want to pray The Lord’s Prayer, that’s fine. However,
remember it is not the words that matter to God, it is you coming to Him. Sometimes
its hard to speak the words and pray. Sometimes, coming to him in silence with
tears running down our face is prayer enough. Coming to Him in prayer with a
simple “Please, Lord, help me” is enough.
“Your silent prayers
uttered on tearstained pillows were heard before they were said.
Your deepest
questions were answered before they were asked.
He sees you, He hears
you, He knows you.”
-Max Lucado, God Came Near (1986)
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