How Do I Pray?

The people that followed Jesus asked the same question! He led them in a prayer we call “The Lords Prayer”, and it is found in the bible in the book of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 31.

Start a conversation with God

Prayer is not a ritual. Praying is actually our way to communicate with God. He wants us to pray to Him because he loves us and wants to hear from us. Prayer is how we connect with Him. It is simply talking and sharing what is on our hearts. It is a conversation with God. If you have never prayed, now is a great time to start.

God wants to hear from you

It is perfectly okay to have questions or even doubts. It's quite normal at this point. Some people think it's not right to pray or even try to talk to God until they have things figured out. The truth is, He actually wants us, and even asks us, to come to Him just as we are. The Bible says that in our weakness and brokenness, He loves us. It is no surprise to him that we might even be mad at him, or possibly blame him for hard things that have happened in our lives. He's okay with that and wants to help us through our struggles.

God loves you just as you are

If you think you may have gone too far away from God, or that your own personal mess ups are just too much for Him, that's truly not the case. If you think God has turned his back on you, that is also untrue. He loves you and that is why he sent His son to take all the sin and shame of the world so that you can be free from the consequence of your individual failures. You will still have struggles. You will still have doubts. You will still wrestle with Him at times. We all are going to make mistakes along the way. That is why His spirit is here to help us through these things. Even when we feel alone or forgotten, He is there. He is here now. He is inviting you to simply talk to him.

Talk to him

If you'd like to talk to him now, just speak from your heart. Ask Him to reveal himself to you and to help you on your journey with Him. He'd love to be a part of your life every day, because he loves you. He wants to help you through life's struggles and show you, that with Him, you can do life better. You can be more complete.

Here is a sample prayer

God, I'm not sure where to start, but I want to. If you are real, I want to learn more. It's hard to believe that I can have a relationship with the creator of the universe, but if I can, I want to. There are so many questions I still have, but I'm learning that I don't have to totally understand in order to begin a relationship with you. Please help me to untwist and untangle my distorted ideas and beliefs about You. I want to know the truth. I'm becoming aware that I've fallen short, but today I want to start where I am right now. I'm learning that Jesus was punished on the cross and because of that, You no longer hold my mistakes against me. This is amazing! I am thankful for this and humbled to receive Your kindness and mercy! Today, I choose to follow Jesus with the help of Your Spirit.

Moving Forward