Pray, And Don’t Stop
You probably have or have had the same questions about prayer that I had while I was growing up, starting with “Am I doing this correctly?” We want God to hear us and we want Him to answer, so there must be a trick to it. We must know how to pray correctly for God to hear and to deliver.
The question is simple, is there a correct way to pray?
The simple answer is yes.
Jesus does give an answer to this in the gospels:
Matthew 6:9-13 “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
That is the model of prayer Jesus gave, but do you have to pray that word for word, every time? Is it a script or is it a formula? My personal belief is that he is giving us a way to pray that covers everything we may go through or need to think about as a standard. I also believe that prayer can be more intimate and can be much less formal and way more personal than how we perceive what Jesus is saying.
So what else can we say, ask for, or do we have to say anything at all?
You can tell Him what bothers you or what stresses you out. You can ask Him for what direction to take your life or simply tell Him that you are mad about a certain life experience. We should feel free to express what we are feeling to Him, because he already knows what and how that is.
How do you pray when you are hurting and do not have the words?
There are moments when we are hurting and are at a complete loss for what to say. We want to pray and ask for His intervention and presence, but what words do we use when they simply are not there. Actually, deep hurt is enough.
Romans 8:26-27 says “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
He understands our feelings and knows what we want and need to say in those moments, and that is enough. Sitting in hurt can be enough of a prayer for it to reach God’s heart.
Prayer is not just a way for us to ask for stuff or for situations to turn out in our favor. Sure, that can be part of it, but more importantly, prayer is a way for us to talk to the creator of everything and transfer our burdens and stressors to Him.
We can pray all day. The Bible encourages us to pray without ceasing, and while that may seem like a big-time commitment it doesn’t have to be. My wife explained it to me one day that praying without ceasing for her is as simple as breathing prayers. Before a test she would pray, “God help me do well”, or while driving though a crazy intersection she would ask, “God, please keep me safe” or if she saw an ambulance driving with its lights and sirens on she would simply say, “God, please keep everyone safe that they are going to help.”
Short or detailed, long or simple, or sitting in pain and groaning, God hears you.
Pray.
- Do you find it easy to remember to pray throughout the day? What are some ways you can remind yourself that God is with you in the midst of your routine?
- Write out a few things that you want to pray for. Take five minutes to pray over them right now!
