Understanding Prayer: What It Is, Why We Do It and How We Should Do It
Prayer is an essential part of any Christian’s life.
But what is prayer and how should we do it? Does God really hear us and answer our prayers?
These are some of the questions we will answer in this article along with many others.
The objective of this article is to teach what the Bible says about prayer and to provide a Biblical foundation for how to come to God in prayer.
However, the important thing to remember is that all prayer is good. Never hesitate to pray because you are afraid that you might be doing it wrong.
Come to God in faith, with a humble and repentant heart and he will hear you.
But, as we mature in our walk with God, our prayer methods should also grow more mature.
Let’s get started.
What Is Prayer?
Prayer is communication with God. When we pray, we are talking directly to God, the creator of the universe.
Through prayer, we establish a personal relationship with God almighty. God wants a personal relationship with each one of us and that can only be achieved through prayer.
And when done from the heart and in true faith and love, prayer will give us a supernatural peace that we can never achieve from things in this world.
Prayer is powerful. It can change people and it can change the world.
“…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” (James 5:16 NLT)
Pray often. Pray about everything.
The History of Prayer:
Under the Jewish Law of the Old Testament, only priests were allowed to communicate with God. They were the intermediaries between the people and God.
However, even the priests could only go behind the curtain in the Temple to the holy location where God dwelled and be in his presence once a year.
Jesus’ death on the cross ushered in a New Covenant. At the moment of his death on the cross, the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God was now accessible to everyone.
It is only through Jesus that we have direct access to God the Father.
“Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” (Ephesians 2:18 NLT)
Because of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, anyone and everyone can come directly to God in prayer. And each time we pray, we come into God’s presence. This is an incredible privilege that we should never take for granted.
Why Do We Pray?
First and foremost, we pray because God commands us to pray.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6 ESV)
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12 (ESV)
God wants us to bring our problems, wants and needs to him and to seek his wisdom and guidance in all aspects of our lives. We do this through prayer.
Second, we pray to have a personal relationship with God.
Jesus was constantly praying thus giving us the perfect example of how to have a loving relationship with the Father.
“One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.” (Luke 6:12 NLT)
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35 ESV)
God is our Heavenly Father and wants the very best for us. He wants to be an integral part of our lives. The closer we get to God and the better we get to know him, the more he can help us.
Prayer is a vital aspect of spiritual life and growth
Prayer must be a regular part of every Christian’s daily life.
When Should We Pray?
We are to pray continually. We are to pray about everything.
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.” (Ephesians 6:18 NLT)
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 ESV)
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12 ESV)
We should bring everything to God in prayer. All of our fears, concerns, hopes, requests, along with thanks for all of our successes, victories and blessings in life.
Who Do We Pray To?
We are to pray to the God the Father.
Jesus told us to do this when he taught his disciples how to pray. The prayer that he taught them, now known to us as “The Lord’s Prayer,” starts with: “Our Father in heaven,…” thereby addressing the prayer to God the Father.
In John 16:23, Jesus further instructs us to make our requests to God the Father.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” (John 16:23 ESV)
But, what about praying to Jesus and the Holy Spirit?
There are no examples of prayer to the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
However, there are two examples of prayer to Jesus:
In the first example, Stephen prayed to Jesus when he was being stoned:
“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'” (Acts 7:59 NIV)
In the second example, Paul prayed to Jesus to remove the thorn in his flesh:
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8- 9 NIV)
However, these are both special cases.
In Paul’s case, it was the resurrected Jesus who personally intercepted him on his way to Damascus and converted him into a devout follower. Thus, it only makes sense that Paul would reach out to Jesus about the thorn in his flesh. (Note: Paul formally addresses his prayer to “the Lord,” but this is accepted to be Jesus since “Lord” is a title Paul frequently applied to Jesus)
Regarding Stephen, before he was stoned, he saw a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Thus, when he called out for Jesus to receive his spirit, he was speaking directly to Jesus in the vision.
Let’s see what Jesus taught about going directly to him with our requests.
In John 14:13-14, Jesus tells his disciples that they can ask him for anything in his name and he will do it.
“You can ask for anything in my name and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13-14 NLT)
At that time, Jesus was still physically with them, so he isn’t really telling them to pray to him, but to merely come to him and ask for what they need.
Later in John 16:22-24, Jesus updates his instruction by telling his disciples that when they see him again (after his resurrection), they are to go directly to the Father with their requests, using his name, instead of bringing their requests to him.
“So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” (John 16:22-24 NLT)
Thus, Jesus is telling his disciples that after his resurrection, they are to pray to the Father for what they need, not to him, and to ask the Father in his name.
Jesus’ death on the cross gave his disciples, and every believer since, direct access to God the Father. This is a crucial part of the New Covenant that God made with mankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus.
If you pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit, your prayer will surely be heard. However, the Bible teaches that our prayers should be addressed to God the Father. God is the source of all things and all glory goes to him. Therefore, our prayers should be directed to him.
Why Do We End Prayers “In Jesus’ Name?”
Jesus is our advocate to God and through Jesus, we have the privilege of communicating directly with God and having our prayers heard by God.
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” (John 14:6 NIV)
As our advocate, Jesus instructs us to make our requests known to God, the Father, in his name.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16 ESV)
“…Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” (John 16:23 ESV)
Thus, the reason we end prayers “in Jesus’ name” is that we are asking in Jesus’ name, just as he instructed us to do.
What is the Holy Spirit’s Role in Prayer?
The Holy Spirit is our partner in prayer.
“Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” (Ephesians 2:18 NLT)
The Holy Spirit guides and assists us in our prayers. The Holy Spirit empowers our prayers.
“Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26 ESV)
As a result, we never have to worry about whether or not we used just the right words or said things in just the right way. If we come to God in repentance and in faith, the Holy Spirit will make sure God understands our requests.
Thus the Bible teaches that all three members of the Holy Trinity are involved in our prayers: We pray to God the Father in Jesus’ name by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Does God Hear Prayers From Non-Believers:
God only hears one prayer from non-believers and that is the Sinner’s Prayer; their humble prayer of confession and acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior.
“We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” (John 9:31 ESV)
If you don’t believe in God, why would you expect him to hear your prayers? You can’t.
But become a believer and you have a direct line of communication with God.
How great is that!
Does God Really Answer Our Prayers?
God hears the prayers of all believers. And he does answer prayers.
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:22 ESV)
“And I tell you, ‘ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.'” (Luke 9-10 ESV)
We must realize, however, that God’s answer may not always be the answer that we want, but it will be the answer consistent with the plan God has for our lives. Consistent with his will for us.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14 NIV)
Just as parents don’t always give their children what they want, instead giving them what is best for them, our Heavenly Father does the same for us.
But, God always works for the good in our lives, even though we may not see it at the time.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)
And God works in His own time, not our time. Answers may take a long time to come, so we must be patient. And we must never lose faith.
Have the Right Motives Whey You Pray:
God is not going to grant us anything that is harmful to us or would be displeasing to him.
Our requests to God must be righteous. They must be consistent with God’s plan for our lives.
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3 NIV)
If we are lovers of sin, God will not listen to our prayers until we repent of those sins.
“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” (Psalm 66:18-20)
But if we come to God and ask for things that are righteous, he will surely hear us and grant us what we ask.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 14-15 NIV)
If we are faithful to God, he will be faithful to us:
“And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3:22 ESV)
Be Specific About What You Pray For:
When you make a request to God, know exactly what you want him to do for you and ask him to do it.
Don’t be vague. Don’t generalize. If we don’t know what we want God to do for us, how can we expect God to help us?
Be specific and detailed.
Tell God the specific answer you seek. The exact thing you want him to do for you.
Pray With Boldness:
God is all powerful. He created the earth and the universe. There is nothing he cannot do.
So don’t be afraid to make your prayers big. To make them bold.
There is an old saying that goes something like this: “Stop telling God about your big problems. Instead, start telling your problems about your big God.”
God is omnipotent. Don’t be afraid to ask him to do the impossible.
Pray with Faith and Expectation:
When we pray, we must believe with all of our hearts that God will answer us.
We must pray with faith. Faith gives us hope, knowing that God is all-powerful and can indeed help us, no matter how big our problem.
And we must expect an answer. Expectation focuses our faith onto the specific answer we seek and gives us the conviction that an answer will come.
Expectation allows us to look forward with anticipation to the specific answer God is going to send us.
If we pray and don’t expect an answer, then we are being disrespectful to God. It says that we don’t really have faith that God can help us. We are just wishing, not praying.
Thus, even though we may come to God with a great problem or tragedy in our life, if we come to God with complete faith and expectation, then we should come away from prayer fully at peace, knowing that God is in control and will provide us with the solution he deems best for us.
If we pray, but don’t find peace, then we don’t really have faith in God.
God tells us that if we pray with faith and expectation, He will answer our prayers:
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 NIV)
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:22 ESV)
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6-7 NIV)
Pray with faith and expectation, knowing that God hears our prayers and will answer them.
That is the mindset of a believer.
Be Persistent In Your Prayers:
God wants us to be persistent in our prayers and to never give up or lose heart.
Delays in answering prayers is a way that God sometimes tests our faith and builds our character. He wants us to be strong and our faith to be unshakable.
And he wants to make sure we pray for things that are righteous and in line with his will for us.
Jesus used two parables to illustrate how we are to be persistent in our prayers.
The first parable is from Luke 18:
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!'” (Luke 18: 1-5 NIV)
The second parable is from Luke 11:
“Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: ‘Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loves of bread. You say to him, “A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.” And suppose he calls out from his bedroom,”‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.” But I tell you this — though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.'” (Luke 11:5-10 NLT)
When an answer doesn’t come right away, check to make sure that you are praying for something that is pleasing to God. If so, then continue to pray with shameless persistence until you receive an answer.
How Should We Pray?
We are to pray from the heart in our own words. Our prayers need to be personal, not routine or memorized.
According to ChristianBibleReference.org, prayer should contain the following elements:
● Expressions of faith and trust in God
● Confession of our sins
● Praise of God’s mighty deeds
● Thanksgiving for all the good things we have received
● Dedication to serve God and other people
● Requests for our needs and the needs of others
This list provides a good template for our prayers.
Here are some other templates for structuring our prayers.
The Lord’s Prayer:
The Lord’s Prayer is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray and, therefore, is a good template for the structure of our prayers.
“9Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread, 12and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'” (Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)
● Verse 9 tells us to pray to the Father
● Verse 9 also tells us to start our prayers with worship by giving honor to God and that his name is holy
● Verse 10 tells us to acknowledge that God will ultimately be victorious and establish his kingdom on earth but, in the meantime, we are to actively seek his kingdom in our daily lives by willingly and lovingly following his ways and obeying his commands, just as they are obeyed in heaven
● Verse 11 tells us to pray for our daily needs
● Verse 12 tells us to ask for forgiveness for our sins and reminds us that we are to forgive those who have sinned against us
● Verse 13 tells us to pray for protection from succumbing to temptation and for God to deliver us from Satan and his power
A.C.T.S.
This is a template many Christians use to structure their prayers, incorporating the following four elements in each prayer, typically in the order given.
● A = Adoration (our love for God)
● C = Confession (of our sins)
● T = Thanksgiving (giving thanks to God for all the blessings in our life)
● S = Supplication (make our requests known to God for ourselves and for others)
P.R.A.Y.E.R. The Six Attributes of Prayer
This acronym gives us a template for the mindset we should have when we come to God in prayer.
● P = Pause (Be still and know that you are in the presence of God almighty, the creator of the universe)
● R = Reverence (Be in awe of God and show him great respect)
● A = Asset (Agree to accept God’s will for your life. God is all powerful and all knowing and knows what is best for us.)
● Y = Yearning (Yearn to know God and seek him out through prayer and the study of the Scriptures)
● E = Energy (Let the power of prayer refresh and energize you so that you can take on and conquer the challenges of life)
● R = Requests (Take your problems, cares, and needs to God in prayer knowing that he has a plan for each of our lives and that he will always do what is best for us)
Prayer Should Be a Two-Way Conversation:
When we pray, we should not only speak to God but we should quiet our mind and listen for God to speak to us.
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.” (Psalm 37:7 NIV).
As you pray and meditate on God’s Word, listen for God to speak to you. He will, if you take the time to listen.
Become a Prayer Worrier:
The concept of prayer warriors was brought into public awareness by the movie “War Room.”
“War Room” is not only a great movie but it also teaches us a lot about prayer, the power of prayer, and how to implement prayer into our daily lives.
All believers must become true prayer warriors. We do that by:
● Setting up a specific place to pray (a closet is used in the movie)
● Praying every day
● Keeping a prayer journal (document your prayers and, most importantly, document prayers that God has answered)
● Being persistent in your prayers
Prayer warriors are tenacious prayers. They pray for everyone in their life that needs help.
The world needs more prayer warriors. Become a prayer warrior today!
Summing Up:
Prayer is crucial part of every believer’s life.
Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross has given us direct access to God, the creator of the universe. This is an incredible privilege that we must never take for granted.
God wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us and we do this by communicating with God through prayer.
The Bible talks a lot about prayer. The Biblical blueprint for prayer is to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is powerful. Prayer will change lives. Prayer can change the world.
Pray often about everything. Be a prayer warrior.
