Teach Us to Pray – 3 Simple Practices That Make a Big Difference

There is no wrong way to pray.

Perhaps the only mistake in the realm of prayer is not to pray at all, or to make it last in your list of priorities.

There are many helpful prayer plans and useful books on prayer, but ultimately nothing beats simply praying! You can’t do it wrong.

Serving in the church as a leader for as long as I have, the most consistent thing I’ve seen is a lack of confidence in how to pray. Men and women are often uncomfortable and sometimes afraid to pray out loud in a group because they feel they are not very good at it, or don’t know what to say. This often becomes an obstacle to pray much at all, even in private.

It’s important to remove the element of complexity from prayer and replace it with the promise of life-changing power. In the natural realm, it’s kind of like walking. It’s really difficult to go for a walk and “walk wrong,” and the benefits are incredible. Walking is a form of exercise, the more we walk the stronger we get and the longer we can walk with more noticeable results.

Prayer has an element that is like being with a close friend. You can be together, not actually talking, but enjoying the communion of each other’s presence. It’s not only OK to just “sit with God,” but when you intentionally focus on the sheer majesty of His presence it brings peace, joy and power to your life.

Reading scripture is a form of prayer. It’s a way God speaks to you. And of course, God is eager to hear from you as well. He is eager to hear your praise, gratitude, prayers for others, and your personal requests.

It’s often said that our prayers should not resemble a Christmas list of everything we want. I agree. However, God is your Heavenly Father who knows what you need before you ask. He knows your problems and concerns. He loves you and desires to bless you.

Jesus’ most famous lesson on prayer is about 53 words in length and takes less than a minute to read it. (Matthew 6:9-13) In it, there is a lifetime of wisdom, but you can access that wisdom immediately.

“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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 the evil one. ’

Matthew 6:9-13

Learning to pray (practicing prayer) is a process of reflecting the love of God and His will back to Him.

Prayer is an invitation.

• It’s an invitation to experience intimate communion with Jesus.
• It’s an invitation to develop your faith.
• It’s an invitation to change the world.

Prayer is an invitation to experience intimate communion with Jesus.

My intent here is not so much to offer another prayer plan, but to help encourage you to see prayer as an invitation to engage in something natural, normal and simple.

Even though your life may be complex and full, a meaningful prayer life, one you are happy with, is doable.

Prayer — children get it; adults complicate it. Prayer isn’t something light and frivolous, but it is something anyone can do anytime.

3 Simple Practices to Enhance Your Prayer Life:

1) Pray Big.

Praying “big” is not about testing God or forgetting that He is God and we are not, it’s about learning how to pray with God’s heart and having the faith to believe God can.

The second phrase in Jesus’ lesson on prayer is: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  It doesn’t get bigger or more important than the Kingdom of God.

Prayer focused on God’s purpose helps keep us Kingdom minded. Jesus died for the whole world and each one who believes will be saved. That is God’s primary agenda.

There is an unlimited number of large and formidable needs. Such as praying for our country to turn back to God, solutions for world hunger, or peace in the middle east.

However, “big” isn’t always about sheer size and scope. It’s about something that without God it can’t happen. Maybe the salvation of a family member who resists God, or a loved one trapped in a powerful addiction. Perhaps children in a local school that are not part of a loving family.

What is your big prayer?

2) Pray Specific.

The more focused, specific and detailed your prayers — the more confidence you gain that God answered your prayer.

There is nothing wrong with general prayers, but it’s more difficult to know when they are answered. You might be tempted to think, “Well, it was coincidental that I prayed and it all worked out.”

Dare to trust God and stretch your faith. Take a spiritual risk and pray very specific. Again, not in a way that tests God, but one that allows you to know it was God.

Praying with precision will increase your faith and encourage you to pray more.

A friend of mine asked God to provide a capable leader to be the successor of his very successful company. He made a two page, single-space list of qualities, levels of gifting unique experience, vision-capacity, down to even where the successor would be from and personality. My friend began to seriously pray through the details of his list. It took some time, but God provided the person that met every single desire on the list. That was not a coincidence.

Praying specific can become an exciting adventure and partnership with God. Not like punching in your requests like an order on Amazon, but truly seeking to pray the heart, mind and will of the Father!

3) Pray Now.

You probably have a favorite spot you like to pray. If not, I encourage you to find a place in your house that is your “prayer place.” That’s where you go to pray, and those are often your longer prayer times.

But you can pray anywhere and anytime. And often those prayers are short. They are sincere and from the heart, but brief.

Scripture says, “Pray continually.” (I Thess. 5:17) That represents awareness and engagement in the fact that God is always with you. I believe it’s an invitation to pray anytime as the Holy Spirit prompts you.

You might be driving by a terrible accident and ask God to save lives. You might be in a mall and see someone who appears to be very ill and ask God to heal them. Or perhaps you are in a meeting at work or having a tough time with one of your kids at home, and you simply pray, “Jesus I need your help, I need wisdom, patience and guidance.

There is no need to wait. Pray now.

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So, for prayer, imagine yourself on a long journey with God, just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.