Can you teach me how to pray?

[Sketcher]

The Lord's Prayer is a template for our prayers. While it is good on its own, we can make each stanza our own. It is as much meditation (but not in the Buddhist sense) as it is prayer.

For instance:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

As you address your Father, remember who he is. His greatness, his power, his great love for little you, and for other people and creatures. Remember his honest and straightforward and consistent and compassionate character. You are addressing the One who saved Noah and his family and two of every animal (Genesis 6-8). You are addressing the One who saw Joseph thrown in the well by his brothers and sold to slavers and framed and in prison and yet was with him and lifted him up (Genesis 37-41). You are addressing the One who heard the prayers and cries of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, and freed them through mighty works (Exodus 1-14). You are addressing the One who does not change like the shifting shadows (James 1:17) or delight in death (James 1:13, Ezekiel 18:32). It prepares you to pray in faith because you are reminded of who God is, and can rest in that. This is how Philippians 4:6-7 can be fulfilled in your life.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

This is simultaneously a call for healing & justice and a challenge to submission to his will. We may be part of this fulfillment - not through coercive means of course, but our hearts must be open to obey his calls to help others in need. If we pray this part of the prayer, we should be willing to be part of his solution to whatever problem we might bring to him. It's not about readying your fist to strike or dominate another, but it may be about opening your hand to give to someone in need.

Give us this day our daily bread,

This is where you present your needs to God, whatever they may be. Remember the God you are praying to, who hears you the first time, and is wise enough and caring enough to "get it."

and forgive us our debts

Confess and renounce your sins. Trust in the work Jesus did by dying and rising again for your forgiveness and justification.

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

If there is anyone you need to forgive, forgive them. I often ask for God's help to forgive at this point, as that is very hard for me to do.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

This is a clear guide for how we should walk, and this is where our hearts should be. We should have a healthy fear of sin, without getting duped into holier-than-thou-ness, which itself is sin and failing to guard against the sins of pride and self-righteousness.

 

[salt-n-light]

Does anyone know how to correctly pray to God? And, if so, how exactly would one pray to Him?

You pray with a right heart. That is the correct way to pray.

You acknowledge God and are aware of yourself, and you then make your request known with a heart that ultimately desires God's will to be done. That could range from repenting for your own self, or intercede on someone's behalf, or even both where your heart is convicted to repent before making a request. There's no set length to it, its just having a conversation.

 

[Thisis Thend]

You ask how to pray. But let me ask you. If you truly wanted to get in touch someone that you had questions for but couldn't find, how might you do it? Hmmm..., that's a tough one..., But let's say you discovered that they had left a note behind, telling you how they could be reached. And so, you picked up the note and read; "If you want to find me, I am in Heaven." And then you thought, well.., where is Heaven? And then further down you read, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." What would you think? To my mind, that just means I need to start asking questions or asking for things to myself (which is the definition of prayer) So, whatever questions you might have, turn and look within. In fact, this instruction is so simple, I don't even understand your question. Why are you asking other people how to pray, when the person you want to ask the question to, told you where He is? Just go and ask Him, not them. It makes no sense to ask someone else, when the person you have questions for, told you where they are. But I have another thought. I wonder if maybe you don't really want to know. I could be wrong, but I see that you made this post a long time ago, but have had no further comment or questions. So maybe, your after something else? I noticed in another post, you asked; "Who's your favorite Saint." Which to my mind, is akin to asking "What's your favorite color?" Believe me, I'm not trying to judge the truth of your 'seeking' conviction. Only God knows that. But if you are after something else (ie; see how many people I can get to respond, find someone to pay attention to something I have to say, etc.) I would hope to give you some sound and sober advice. I would caution you against amusing yourself with the Word of God. Better if you go do a crossword, or go to another social media site to make posts and ask questions. Maybe in fact, you HAVE already moved on. But if you are serious, then respond to this.

 

[John 1720]

Does anyone know how to correctly pray to God? And, if so, how exactly would one pray to Him?

I'm very impressed by the good advice others have provided you with regarding prayer. Seek intimacy with God in prayer for He knows you better than you know yourself and as others have already stated He knows your needs even before you ask. Remember it is two way communication between your soul and your loving Father, expect your heart to be moved and both your mind and faith to be enriched. Center on who God is in all His glory and loveliness in order that your focus on Him is clear and without distraction. Ask Him for His help if that is difficult and the cares of this world and its thorns and briars are impeding your focus and your intimacy with God. We may wrestle with our fallen nature at times but God is our helper in all things. An awareness then that there are two sources for our thoughts and that God sees our desire for our minds and hearts to connect to the wellspring of life in all His goodness enables and empowers us to pray in the Spirit.

• Luk 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Sometimes we simply don't know how to pray and our hearts are overwhelmed. In those times simply cry out to God and the Spirit of God will help you in your intercession.

• Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

I've already seen some great posts about modeling prayer using the Our Father as an instructional guide as well as formatting prayer to the acronym ACTS. I will say I believe there is great depth in studying it and much to glean from the Lord's prayer. I often slowly go through it and remind myself of the amplifications of each verse to realize its depth and beauty. There is also another prayer of Jesus, a much longer one, that is well worth your study as well. It is called Jesus' high priestly prayer and is located in the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John. Here Jesus is intimately praying to the Father and for Himself, His disciples, and even you!

John 17

May God bless
John 17:20