How Should We Pray to God?

[King]

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How Should We Pray to God?

TO ADDRESS the Almighty and share our most intimate thoughts with him is an inestimable privilege. Yet, many people are unsure about how to pray, and others want to improve their prayers. Some of Jesus Christ’s early followers were evidently concerned about the quality of their prayers. One of them said to him: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” (Luke 11:1) Jesus responded by giving a model prayer, often called the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. That beautiful, yet simple, prayer not only helps us to address God in an acceptable way but also sheds light on the main message of the Bible.

Jesus’ Model Prayer

Jesus said: “You must pray, then, this way:
‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your
will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth. Give us today our bread for this day; and forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but
deliver us from the wicked one.’ ”—Matthew 6:9-13.

Note that Jesus said: “You must pray, then, this way.” The point? Jesus did not want his
followers to parrot his words, or recite them. Indeed, he had just discouraged this practice.
(Matthew 6:7) Rather, his prayer is a lesson in priorities—what is important in God’s
eyes, not just ours. In order to understand what those priorities are, we need to grasp the
meaning of Jesus’ words. Let us, then, examine his words point by point.

The Model Prayer Explained

follow the link: How Should We Pray to God? in page 12-13 of this magazine

[King]

Prayer

How?

WHEN it comes to prayer, many religious traditions focus on physical issues, such as posture, wording, and ritual. However, the Bible helps us to set such issues aside and focus on more important aspects of the question, “How should we pray?”

The Bible depicts faithful servants of God as praying in many settings and postures. They prayed silently or aloud as the circumstances dictated. They prayed while looking up at the sky or while bowing down. Rather than using images, beads, or prayer books as aids in prayer, they simply prayed from the heart in their own words. What made their prayers effective?

As mentioned in the preceding article, they directed their prayers only to one God—Jehovah. There is another important factor. We read at 1 John 5:14: “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us.” Our prayers need to be in harmony with God’s will. What does that mean?

To pray in harmony with God’s will, we need to know what his will is. Study of the Bible, then, is an essential ingredient of prayer. Does this mean that God will refuse to hear us unless we are Bible scholars? No, but God expects us to look for his will, seeking to understand it and to act on it. (Matthew 7:21-23) We need to pray in harmony with what we learn.

As we learn about Jehovah and his will, we grow in faith—another vital factor in prayer. Jesus said: “All the things you ask in prayer, having faith, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22) Faith does not mean gullibility. Rather, it means believing in something that even though unseen, is supported by very strong evidence. (Hebrews 11:1) The Bible is packed with evidence that Jehovah, whom we cannot see, is real, is reliable, and is willing to answer the prayers of those who have faith in him. Furthermore, we can always ask for more faith, and Jehovah loves to give us what we need.—Luke 17:5; James 1:17.
Here is yet another essential aspect of how to pray. Jesus said: “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) So Jesus is the means of our approach to the Father, Jehovah. Thus, Jesus told his followers to pray in his name. (John 14:13; 15:16) That does not mean that we should pray to Jesus. Rather, we pray in the name of Jesus, remembering that Jesus is the reason that we are able to approach our perfect and holy Father.
Jesus’ closest followers once asked him: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” (Luke 11:1) Evidently, they were not asking about such basics as we have just discussed. They really wanted to know about content—in effect saying, ‘What should we pray about?’

[zed943]

prayer is just like talking to God.everyday we need to pray in order to norture us and to grow with God, to inspire us to work.God is our guide in our everyday's life.Prayer is our protection.

[nakaigo]

direct, straight to the point...
adto suok, bat2x sa imong litanya....

[noy]

just like two friends talking..hehe..only this time..you're the one who gets all the benefits and He gets all the credits for He is worthier than worthy itself...

[gregu_900]

to be thankful everyday of your life...

[SioDenz]

'Livin' On A Prayer...
-Matud pang Bon Jovi

[kolo]

pray to god not only when you want something.

[LaBelleza]

^not just when u want something but also when ur thankful for something. don't just pray for urself but for others too.