Why we should pray + how to pray

Hey everyone 🙂 I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. Today I am going to be talking about prayer, why we should pray and how you can pray. Prayer is huge contributing factor to your relationship with God. Before I get into it, make sure to subscribe my scrolling all the way down and entering your email so that you don’t miss any of my posts. Enjoy!

WHY WE SHOULD PRAY

When you think about it, prayer is our way to communicate with God. This is what makes it so vital in our relationship with Him. It can be easy for you to dismiss it, maybe thinking that he doesn’t hear you, or he already knows everything so why should I tell him what I want or think.

First, God is listening and he hears your prayers or your cries for help. Psalms 34:17 says: When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. He wants us to cry out to him and speak with him. Matthew 21:22 also says: And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. That is the trick, we can’t doubt God’s greatness and ability. We need to ask without a doubt that he will provide for us. We also need to make sure what we are praying for is righteous. God wants to help us move closer to him, so if you are praying for a new pair of designer shoes remember that that could be feeding your sin.

You also may be asking, why would I pray if God will provide for me and only gives what he wills. When you don’t pray or ask for something, you won’t receive it. Jesus prayed once and said to God, “I think you have heard me father.” In return, God rose Lazarus from the dead. That would not have happened if Jesus hadn’t prayed (John 11:41-42). Your prayers do mean something and God hears you, but we also have to remember that God knows more than we do and we have to rely on him, not our own understanding.

God wants us to pray about anything and everything (Ephesians 6:18). He wants us to pray when we are sad but also pray to him when we are happy and don’t need anything (James 5:13). It isn’t only about asking for things, but when we pray we are allowing him to change our hearts. God doesn’t need us to pray to him, we need to pray to him. When we show our faith to him by praying we are getting closer to him. James 4:8 says: Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

HOW TO PRAY

Prayer should be personal between you and God. You don’t have to follow any rules or method but here is how I pray. I pray many times through out the day if I am struggling or if I feel the need to but I always pray at night and before bed. Writing is easiest for me because I actually have to dedicate time to writing out my prayer. I have a little prayer journal as you can see and I always write in that at night.

I first start by thanking God for what he has provided me with and for the previous day. It is important that we thank God and recognize what he has done in our lives already (Colossians 4:2). After that I always confess my sins. When we confess our sins it takes the power out of them (James 5:16). Speak to God like a friend and then ask for forgiveness and his help. Once I have done all that, I pray about anything I have been worrying about or any of my thoughts. This is when I ask God for something or ask for his help. Before I fall asleep is when I pray for people. I always go through my family members and anyone else and ask God to bless them. I will also pray for any of you or friends.

Honestly, there isn’t any set amount of time that you should pray for, but the more you pray, the better! When you start to pray it will become more and more naturally for you to talk to God through out the day. A good habit to get into is dedicating some time out of your day to pray to God in a type of meditation. When you clear your mind like that you are opening it to God and prayer.

TIPS

Remember that prayer is about strengthening your faith and your relationship with God. It isn’t about getting what we want, but instead about trusting God and what he is doing our lives. Matthew 7:8 explains that when we ask we shall revive but only if we diligently seek and answer along with Him.

Make sure that when you are praying, you are in an area where your attention is undivided. Like I mentioned above, it is best to have specific set times when you pray through out the day. This way you don’t forget or keep pushing it off.

If it is helpful for you, make a prayer list of specific people or things that you want to focus your prayers on. But always remember to keep it simple. God doesn’t need you to use big fancy words, just talk to him.

I hope this helps some of you who may need some help with prayer. I would be happy to answer any of your questions in the comments, or shoot me a message on Instagram. I hope you all have an amazing day and thanks so much for reading 🙂