“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

 Colossians 4:2

Prayer can seem like a daunting task and many Christians both old and new, find themselves wondering how they should approach it. When is the best time to pray? What should we say, and how should we say it? However, what we should try to realize is that prayer is actually quite simple. Prayer is, at its core, talking to God. While we can tell Him anything, there are definitely some guidelines that will help us to better enter into His presence. Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13: “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil.’” So let’s break down the parts of this famous prayer.

1. Praise and surrender. When we come before the Lord in prayer, we should always do so with reverence and awe. We are speaking to the Creator of the whole universe, the one who is in control of all things. So, we should praise Him for His greatness, His mercy, and His faithfulness. We should pray that His will, above all else, is accomplished – for His plan is always good.

2. We all need things to survive – food, water, shelter but, the most important thing that every human needs is the Word of God. Jesus is the only one able to nourish our souls, each and every day. We should definitely pray for our earthly needs; but perhaps even greater is our spiritual need for Him.

3. When we recognize that we have sinned, the first thing that we should do is confess it to God. When we repent, He will forgive us out of His great love and in turn, He will help us to forgive others.

4. Every day, there is a battle being fought over our souls. The enemy tries to deceive us into leaving the will of God to chase after sin. Since we are human, we are bound to make mistakes and give into temptation but, if we ask God for the strength to resist and the desire to choose Him instead, He will deliver us.

Note that while these components are all important, a valid prayer doesn’t require all of them at once. As long as your heart is right with God, there is no wrong way to pray. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” The goal of prayer is to build our relationship with God, and by faith, each word you speak will help you reach that goal.

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