How to pray

There are times in everyone’s life when the reflex is to turn to prayer. It may be on hearing bad news, on discovering a cancerous tumour, on losing a dear one, or also on finally being chosen for a job, meeting up with a true friend, or being told that the cancer is in remission: either way, in both the bad times and the good, we let out a “Thank God” or an “Oh my God!” to one whose presence does not normally concern us very much.

At times, when facing the tough existential questions about what life is all about and whether our existence has any meaning, our thoughts may turn to God: is he there? Does he know me? Can he help me? In our more hopeful moments, we may consider praying.

But how should we pray? Some people travel far on pilgrimage to be in a place where they think their prayer will be heard. Jesus disagrees with that: “when you pray”, he taught, “go into your room and shut the door”. Pray to God in secret, he said, for he will see in secret and respond to your prayer (Matthew 6.5-6). This means that our secret prayers are heard by God, when no-one else could possibly hear them. Prayer arises from our hearts and we can formulate words to God without even having to express them out loud.

But what should we say? Jesus goes on to give “the Lord’s Prayer”, the “Our Father”. This is the type of prayer that Jesus encourages his followers to pray. It covers worship (“Hallowed be thy name”), entering God’s purposes (“Thy kingdom come”) and yielding our lives to obey his will, (“Thy will be done”). Then come our requests: for our “daily bread” – the necessities of life; for the forgiveness of our sins – that is, our spiritual need to renew our life in harmony with God; and for help to live a truly good life – overcoming temptation and being delivered from evil.

While many repeat this prayer without too much thought, it can be personalised and developed into a meaningful time with God, day by day.

However, the first and most important prayer that everyone should be encouraged to pray is taught by Jesus in one of his parables, where the humble worshipper approaches God almost too afraid to open his mouth, and pleads, “God be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18.13). That kind of prayer God gladly answers, says Jesus. It takes humility, for our pride does not easily acknowledge we are sinners before a holy God. But this first real prayer for forgiveness brings us into relationship with our kind heavenly Father, because without this, the Bible warns, “your sins have hidden God’s face from you, so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59.2). So our first prayer must be for forgiveness.

Another way of saying the same thing can be found in Romans 10.13: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. This prayer is a call on the Lord Jesus for God’s forgiveness and salvation. This is a prayer that God promises to answer – the praying person “will be saved”. One desperate man cried out in prayer: “God, if you exist, save my soul if I have one”. God, who is kind and merciful, seeing the sincerity of this man’s repentance and faith, answered by transforming his life!

Have you prayed that very first prayer? You could pray right now, where you are, and a new life with God will begin. 

Clive Every-Clayton