No 6

(How are we to Pray?)

There are really no set rules governing how we are to pray – some pray in the morning, some pray at noon, some pray at night; prayer can be thoughts in our mind or speaking out loud and everything in the middle. The Bible gives many examples of prayer, the Lord’s is probably the best but Daniel prayed three times a day; Paul said that we are to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication” (Eph 6:18b). Some Christians say that the Lord’s Prayer is the only prayer that a Christian should pray because it contains everything we ought to say to our Heavenly Father. Prayer is not a magical incantation and nothing in the actual words we say or how we say them can make God respond to our requests. Repeating the same prayers over and over does just the opposite – Jesus said in Matt 6:7 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

Notwithstanding, the Bible does give certain guidelines on how we are to pray; not a formula, just a guide.

There are 4 principles:

1) Pray in Jesus’ name “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13

2) Pray with Faith “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matt 21:22

3) Pray in the Spirit “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Rom 8:26,27

4) Pray with a pure heart “…the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16b

If we were to sum up these four principles, we could say that our prayers ought to be in sync with the will of God. Prayer is a form of communication and communion that is available to all true Christians; may we avail ourselves of this wonderful privilege.