How To Pray To God

Click For Audio Version

How To Pray To God

Many of us have asked how to pray to God. This question is timeless. It is likely that soon after God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden for disobedience, they were asking this same question.

How do you speak to the One who Created Heaven and Earth; the One who gave you life and requires righteousness from all that come into His Holy Presence?

This question is common to all mankind. Therefore, even if we did not have the Bible, the world around us would attest that we have a Creator.

Paul says in Rom 1:20 NKJV, For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 

In other words, God as Creator is not a question of intelligent men and women. Our problem is how do we talk to an all-powerful God? He is a God we can not see as we see a man or something we build with our hands.

Mankind has a God-given desire to worship. God created us with this need and revealed Himself throughout history so we could worship Him. He also gave us rules to live together in peace and harmony as we worship.

First, He called upon Abraham to father a nation and then He gave them a written law to define His righteousness. He used men such as Moses and the prophets to write down His law for men to live together and honor Him.

From the beginning, part of His plan was for His Son to come to us. Then, Jesus would show us by example how to put that law into practice. Finally, He would teach that righteousness was in our hearts, not just in what we did.

Jesus’s disciples ask Him to teach them.

Jesus’s disciples were raised in the synagogue and had prayed and heard thousands of prayers. Yet they sensed something different about how Jesus prayed.

They wanted to be able to pray like Him, and they realized that He approached Father God differently. His disciples wanted to be able to approach God as Jesus did.

So they asked Him to teach them to pray. We can learn from what Jesus taught them. Let’s take a look at what Jesus said.

It is important to note that Jesus first told them how not to pray.

Jesus points to two groups of people that the disciples are not to imitate concerning prayer. First, they are not to pray like the hypocrites who pray for men to see them. The hypocrites go to public places so men can see how righteous they are and praise them.

Jesus says they have their reward.

The second group is no better. Jesus refers to them as heathen, a common term for a Gentile or non-Jewish person. It usually refers to those who worshiped pagan idols. They pray as if their idol is a word counter, and the more words they use, the more their idol will notice.

In Matthew 6:5-7 NKJV Jesus says,  “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ⁷ And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

We are to pray in secret.

In verse six, Jesus tells the disciples, and us, that we are to go into our rooms and shut the door. We are to pray to our Father in secret. He hears us in secret, and He rewards us accordingly.

Jesus is not limiting us. He is saying to pray for the right reasons, and telling us that prayer is personal. There are times to pray in public, but prayer should never be to elevate us. Nevertheless, we are responsible when offering public prayer to direct others to God. Our prayers should never be to make ourselves look pious.

Finally, we should never take prayer lightly, nor do we need to tell our Heavenly Father everything we need. He already knows what you need and has a plan for your provision.

Jesus continues in Verse 8, “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” He will provide what you need to fulfill His will for you.

We often do not receive what we ask because we ask for the wrong things. James says in James 4:3 NKJV, concerning prayer, ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Do not treat God like Santa Claus!

How to pray is important.

Jesus says, ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray: We need to pay close attention. Jesus’s instructions are self-explanatory if we look at them part by part. You can probably recite the prayer if asked. I will break these verses down to explain the individual parts.

We can use the same five steps Jesus gave His disciples in our prayers. If we follow these simple steps, it will make our prayers easier and more effective. We can become true prayer warriors.

So, let us look at each part.

How blessed we are to say Our Father!

We enjoy the privilege of addressing God as our Father in Heaven. However, we should always start with praise. Hallowed be Your name, or Holy is Your name. Remember that it is God the Creator of all things in Heaven and on Earth that we are addressing.

I have often heard men open prayer, referring to God as Daddy. If Jesus taught His disciples to speak respectfully, we should also. He is our Heavenly Father, but we should address Him with the greatest respect and awe.

Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

Jesus tells us that we are addressing a Holy God, addressing Him as Father by permission. He wants us to understand that even His name is Holy. Therefore, we are to use it with care.

We must pray according to God’s will.

One of our priorities is praying for the fullness of God’s kingdom to be established. We should want to see souls added to His kingdom daily. Then, as His kingdom comes into its glory, we will see His love spread to all who will freely receive it.

We must also acknowledge the need for His will to be done here on earth as it is in Heaven. We need to be sincerely praying for His will and not our will. Too often, we pray self-centered prayers for the things we want or think we need.

Jesus prayed:

¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

Our prayers always need to be focused on God’s will. Remember how Jesus prayed before His crucifixion? Matt 26:39 NKJV tells us,  ³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”  

At times God asks us to do hard things. Therefore, we must condition ourselves daily to seek God’s will over our own. This confession of our desire to see God’s will be done in our lives and on this earth will give us strength and direction.

Should we pray for our daily needs?

We are often quick to proclaim our needs. Jesus puts this in third place as He teaches us how to pray.

First, we are to address our God with praise proclaiming who He is and that He is Holy and righteous.

Then, we need to approach Him in humility.

Next, we need to pray for those things we know He wants, “Your kingdom come.” When we concern ourselves first with what God wants, it changes our mindset. Our prayers change from self-seeking to seeking the will of God.

Jesus does not instruct us to pray about the big things we want, a better lifestyle, more and better belongings, or even a better job. He knows that the Father will take care of what we need.

Jesus says to pray like this.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

Notice how short this part of the prayer is. It is not tomorrow about which we need to be concerned, it is only today.

Should we pray for our Debtors?

After praising and honoring God, most of us believe that praying for our needs is the most important part of our prayer. However, Jesus teaches us to pray about our sins, because repenting of them is most important for our soul’s well-being.

Jesus paid the price of our sins on the cross, but we still need to ask God for forgiveness for our daily sins. Each of us does wrong before God and our fellow man. Therefore, we must confess these sins and work toward eliminating them from our lives.

Jesus says,

¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.

We are to ask that God forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. WOW!! Is Jesus saying we must ask God to forgive us the same way we forgive others?

Yes, that is the answer. God wants us to show mercy to others as He has shown mercy on us.

God chose to provide a way to salvation for each of us. He extends His mercy to us daily and wants us to do the same. God desires that we try to forgive as freely as He has.

Remember the second greatest commandment?  ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matt 22:39 NKJV

If you love others, you will forgive them when they sin against you. Forgiving is an integral part of being a Christian. It is what allows us to do good deeds for others. Learning to forgive is vital in learning how to pray to God.

Should we pray about the temptations we face?

Jesus understands that His followers will face temptations to fall away from His teachings. He knew their weaknesses, and He knows ours. Yet, Satan constantly tempts us to either do what we know is wrong or not do what we know is right. Both are sins.

We should ask God to help us, not to yield to the many temptations we face daily. He understands what we face each day. God knows how wicked the world is.

It is God’s will for us to live victoriously and overcome every obstacle the world throws before us.

¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, (And don’t let us yield to temptation, NLT)
But deliver us from the evil one.

So do as Jesus did and pray for those who despitefully use you. Do good to all who do you wrong, and you will be like your Heavenly Father who sends the rain on the “good” and the “bad.”

Can you do that? Can you treat someone who hurt or insulted you nicely? You can through Jesus. He will give you the strength you need to love the unlovely.

That is what God did for you! He loved you while you were fighting against Him.

Praise

Finally, we should end all of our prayers with a time of praise.

Jesus gave His disciples an example of how to end their prayers. However, we often say “Amen” and go on to the next thing on our agenda. We must remind ourselves that we have just addressed the Creator of the universe. He is the One Who is in charge of everything that affects our lives. He is the Giver of Life itself. It is only by His Will that we even draw our next breath.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

When we consider how to pray to God we must always remember how great and wonderful He is.

We also need to remember His teaching about the Failure to forgive.

As Jesus ends by instructing the disciples and us to pray, He closes with a return to His point of forgiving our debtors.

¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.

I never thought forgiving was so crucial in prayer until I did this study. However, Jesus wanted to reinforce His lesson on forgiveness and prayer. So He added two more statements, each stronger than the ones before.

By this repetition, Jesus seeks to reinforce this truth so that it will stay in our minds.

First, He states that if you forgive, God will forgive. His exact words are, ¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Do you see a clear connection here?

Jesus wants us to understand the relationship between our forgiving and God’s forgiving. They go together.

Secondly, so we can not ignore it, He repeats this truth by stating it from a different perspective. Jesus says plainly in Matt 6:5-15 NKJV, ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

When Jesus thinks it is important enough to repeat it three times, we need to take the time to give it our full attention. We know that Jesus came to die for our sins on the cross, yet He feels very strongly about our need to forgive others.

Our love and forgiveness of others are attributes that set us apart as Christians. In another Scripture, Jesus says that the world will know you are His disciples by your love for one another.

Forgiving others is a significant part of your Christian walk.

In Conclusion

Prayer is essential in our walk with the Lord, so we must understand how to pray.

Jesus took time to teach His disciples the essential ingredients of acceptable prayer. He did not mean for them to repeat it, only to use it as an example of the critical parts of prayer.

If we include all the parts in our daily prayers, they will be more effective, and we will start seeing more prayers answered. Remember, God wants you to pray, and He wants to answer your prayers. He is waiting for you to ask.

Following are five key points to remember:

1. Though we are allowed to address God as our Heavenly Father, we need to recognize that He is a Holy and Righteous God, and we are approaching His Throne.
2. Early in our prayer, we need to proclaim that it is His Will we seek. We are not approaching God to convince Him to do something but to seek His Will in our lives.
3. Our needs are simple and should not be our primary concern in prayer. Instead, Jesus teaches us to pray for others’ needs.
4. Jesus teaches us that the forgiveness of our debts or sins is dependent on our forgiveness of our debtors. Therefore, to be forgiven, we must forgive.
5. We are to pray for God’s protection from temptation and His deliverance from evil forces at work around us.

Finally, we are always to end our prayers with praise to the God who holds our destiny in His Hands.