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[My King and Lord]

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[Jonaitis]

There are great ways to help or begin your prayer-life.

I recommend studying the Lord's Prayer and modelling after it. It is a good example of how we should address God, although the order isn't dogmatic. Another one is reading and being acquainted with the Psalms, they are written from the personal experiences (struggles, joys, etc) real people who knew and loved God. Last, I recommend praying Scripture. If you don't have the words to pray, pray the very Scriptures themselves. Read a verse, pray it, read a verse, pray it. Go and study, and pray for what you studied. These will greatly help you.

 

[My King and Lord]

There are great ways to help or begin your prayer life.

I recommend studying the Lord's Prayer and modelling after it. It is a good example of how we should address God, although the order isn't dogmatic. Another one is reading and being acquainted with the Psalms, they are written from the personal experiences (struggles, joys, etc) real people who knew and loved God. Last, I recommend praying Scripture. If you don't have the words to pray, pray the very Scriptures themselves. Read a verse, pray it, read a verse, pray it. Go and study, and pray for what you studied. These will greatly help you.

But how many times a day should I pray and how do I make each prayers last longer like atleast 5-10 minutes?

 

[Jonaitis]

But how many times a day should I pray and how do I make each prayers last longer like atleast 5-10 minutes?

In Christianity, we don't place such rules as Islam does. Prayer should be an important part of your life, but how many times you do it and how long depends entirely on you. It is good to learn to commune with God with the heart. God is a personal God who delights to listen to his children, so you can come to him whenever you want. The less you spend time with him in your life in prayer and in his word, the more he will feel distant.

Let me ask you this, how long should you talk to your spouse a day? How long should you talk to your children a day? Why do we view God like he is not someone we can come and enjoy our time with?

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

This is a pretty basic question. I want to know how I can bring myself closer to God. The only thing I could do is read the Bible and I only pray for about a minute when I wake up and before I sleep. I know my prayers have been answered. Since for a day, I had a christian teacher who could read biblical greek, had about 7 bibles(one of the bibles was in greek), and knew a lot about Christianity. This never happened to me and it was only a few days after I accepted Jesus. I can't really talk to anyone I know about Christianity, because they are only Christian in name and they're really atheist. Basically I want to understand prayers more. What do I say in them, how long does it last, and how many times a day should I do it? One more thing about prayer is I do not know what to say before I eat. I come from an Islamic background where you pray 5 times a day in arabic and you say specific words. I got a few things from the New Testament on praying, but I do not believe I truly figured out the best way to do it.

The problem with many Christians is that they know more of the Bible than they actually practice. So if you want to know the will of God, read the Bible, and if you want to do the will of God, do the Bible! Maybe a time of open, honest and frank talking with God (not nice religious prayers) asking Him to show you which parts of the Bible you need to put into practice, would be a good start.

 

[Cclun]

This is a pretty basic question. I want to know how I can bring myself closer to God. The only thing I could do is read the Bible and I only pray for about a minute when I wake up and before I sleep. I know my prayers have been answered. Since for a day, I had a christian teacher who could read biblical greek, had about 7 bibles(one of the bibles was in greek), and knew a lot about Christianity. This never happened to me and it was only a few days after I accepted Jesus. I can't really talk to anyone I know about Christianity, because they are only Christian in name and they're really atheist. Basically I want to understand prayers more. What do I say in them, how long does it last, and how many times a day should I do it? One more thing about prayer is I do not know what to say before I eat. I come from an Islamic background where you pray 5 times a day in arabic and you say specific words. I got a few things from the New Testament on praying, but I do not believe I truly figured out the best way to do it.

For me praying to God is like talking to my best friend. Of course there are times I scheduled a time to sit down and talk to him, but much of my prayer life goes on all day with different activities and often keeping him in mind while I come across people I can pray for our making various decision. Think about your best friend or your spouse, how often do you think about them? Whenever you come up with a decision of some kind or you think about someone, you would often want to talk to them. That is how a Christian's Relationship with God looks like. There is no set amount of time, frequencies etc. because It is a relationship with your best friend. It is not a to do list or an obligation, It simply feels great whenever you talk to Him. He does not NEED us, but we NEED him and communicate with him as much as possible so that we can remain strong and not be deceived by the enemy. I saw someone recommend praying Scripture and praying the Psalms and I found both of those options absolutely wonderful. Scripture is written by God so praying them help us communicate with God even better too. There is a wonderful book by Don Whitney called "Praying the Bible". It is a very short book but very helpful in getting this started, not only do you get to know the scripture, God speaks to you through It at the same time. But in the end, It is important to remember It is not a "To do list", It is a personal relationship and He wants to hear your prayers like talking to a friend!

 

[~Zao~]

Prayer is found in Hope, that spark of faith that is felt when initially seeking Christ. Leaning within the heart (with words or without) into that Hope/Faith to contact the Living God can only build up faith/confidence, because the contact is with Love. Gazing on that Love (again with words or without) is the power of change. Hope/Faith/Prayer is the mirror that becomes clearer every time, and the power is within. It is that change that is wrought within, the power that is changing from glory to glory. When the conscience can accept the change and adjust to that sensitivity, it produces a confidence in what the Lord is accomplishing, and then follows the walk in newness of life.

Romans 8
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 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. 27 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. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

1 Peter 5:10
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Nehemiah 8:10 Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. Jeremiah 29: 11 “For I know the plans I have for you: declares the Lord,”plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”