When I first became a Christian I had no idea how to pray. I had heard other people pray but it seemed like they were using a lot of fancy or special words. Here are 5 ways to pray when you don’t know how to pray.
5 Ways to Pray When You Don’t Know How to Pray
A prayer is a powerful act of faith. It’s about so much more than thanking God for the food we’re about to eat. Prayer is a very personal act and each person prays differently.
There’s no wrong way to pray – well as long as you’re honest and legal in your prayers. I don’t think asking God to help you rob a bank or strike someone dead is going to get you very far.
But if you’re new to faith or stuck in your faith journey you might be looking for some new ways to pray. Try one of these.
Use an Acronym
I’ve seen a number of these acronyms, designed to help you pray. The one I’ve seen the most often is A.C.T.S. It stands for:
Adoration, start out by telling God how much you love him.
Confession, confess your sins, admit to God what you’ve done wrong.
Thanksgiving, thank God for all he’s doing in your life and all that he’s blessed you with.
Supplication, ask God to fulfill your needs or the needs of others.
Some of the other acronyms I’ve seen are P.R.A.Y. which stands for praise, repent, ask, yield. B.L.E.S.S. which stands for body, labor, emotional, social, spiritual.
Use a Prayer Journal
Record your prayers into a daily prayer journal and then read through them. One of the things that I love most about a prayer journal is going back and see what’s been answered. You can check them off and read the checked off ones as your praise.
A prayer journal is really awesome because you can look back in six months or a year or 5 years and really see how many of your prayer’s God answered.
Say the Lord’s Prayer
If you’re really new at prayer and just stuck on how to get started, try praying the Lord’s prayer. The Lord’s prayer is a great way to get started and get you feeling comfortable with praying.
This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Pray the Scriptures
Another great way and one of my favorite ways are to pray the scriptures. Start by finding a scripture you love. For this example, let’s look at a couple examples.
John 10:27 – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
To pray the scriptures, just replace your name or I/me in the passage. Then read it – I like to read it over and over.
Lord, I listen to your voice; I you know, and I follow you.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
This is a great verse for praying about a friend or loved one, just replace their name in the scripture.
The Lord bless and keep Sara; the Lord make his face shine on Sara and be gracious to Sara; Lord turn your face toward Sara and give Sara peace.
Just Pray
My last suggestion might be the hardest – just pray. Just talk to God like you’d talk to a friend. You can’t really pray wrong so just start.
Maybe you fall asleep praying. Maybe you get distracted a hundred times (squirrel). But just start again later or tomorrow.
God desires a relationship with you and prayer is an awesome way to get that relationship started.
Do you have another way to pray? Drop me a message or head over to our group and discuss there.
