Struggling to pray to the Father, here are 6 Effective ways to pray to God our Father to help you.
We often hear some people say: “I don’t know how to pray”. These kinds of people are usually new to the faith, but there are also people in Christian assemblies who often wonder what is the right way to pray or the right attitude to have in this regard.
Even the disciples who were in the presence of the master every day and followed His teachings must have asked themselves this question at some point. So it’s not a trivial question. Better, it turns out to be of the greatest importance when we know what prayer is for the Christian.
To answer them, the teacher first spoke to them about the attitude, about the heart that one must have (Matthew 6: 5-8) before even addressing the question in substance. This is not trivial. In fact, the way you approach prayer determines whether it is answered.
What is the right attitude of heart to observe when the time comes to pray?
1. Not wanting to impress men.
Jesus calls a hypocrite anyone who prays first to be seen and appreciated by men, rather than by God (Matthew 6: 5). The latter particularly like to pray in public to be seen by men. They like their “prayer life” to be taken as an example and to be cited as role models in the field. It’s quite subtle indeed because wanting to be an example or a model to follow is a priori not bad in itself.
The Apostle Paul exhorted his son Timothy to be an example to the faithful in word, in conduct, in charity, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12). Where does the evil come from? The duplicity of heart. This is why the master calls them “hypocrites”. They are so attached to “appear” that they forget how to “be”.
These types of people are already receiving their reward and should not expect any answer from God.
Rather, the Lord encourages us to lock ourselves in a secret place when we want to pray.
This place is as much a physical place as it is the intimacy of our hearts. God sees in secret and gives to each according to his faith.
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2. Do not multiply empty words.
The Lord compares to the pagans (Matthew 6: 7), those who multiply empty words when the time comes to pray, imagining that by dint of words they will be heard. The pagan is the one who is foreign to God, who does not know Him and does not know how He works. Indeed, God is not “stamped” so that it is necessary to repeat the same thing to Him ten thousand times so that He finally understands. The Bible tells us that He knows ahead of time what we need before we even ask Him. The Lord urges us not to be like this type of person, for anyone who acts as a heathen to God cannot receive anything from Him.
How then should we pray?
checkout the 6 Effective ways to pray to God our Father.
Matthew 6: 9-14 (KJV)
“So this is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven! Hallowed be thy name; your kingdom comes; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our trespasses, as we also forgive those who trespass against us; do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For to You belong, for all ages, the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen! ”
This prayer that we all learned by heart when we were little, at least for those born in a Christian environment, should not be a recitation. This is not a typical prayer to be said on all occasions. The word recites moreover refers to something that is stated because it is known by heart, generally without sincerity or truthfulness.
The very famous “Our Father” prayer is in fact only a prayer scheme, given as an indication to serve as benchmarks. What does it actually correspond to?
1. Recognize and worship God as Father.
The Bible teaches us that through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we can now say “Abba Father! “. This expression does not exist in the Old Testament because our fathers in the faith before the sacrifice of Jesus Christ could not call God Father. It was Elohim, Jehovah, Eternal, Yahweh, etc. This was so because the spirit of man had not yet been reconciled to that of God. So he could not dwell in man. But today we can call God “Father!” “. It creates a greater closeness and a deeper intimacy between us. This is the reason why the master wants us to approach Him in prayer considering Him to be our Father, and He is. This gives us more assurance as to the answer because as the Word reminds us in the Gospel of Luke 11 in particular,
Then we have to worship Him. To worship Him is to tell Him how holy He is, how great He is, how good, etc. all the good that our heart feels for Him. It is important that it comes from the heart and not from the lips. God looks at the heart. Worship thus conditions the atmosphere for the manifestation of grace. Psalms 100: 4 teaches us well, we must enter the courts of the King of kings with praise and hymns.
2. Call on His kingdom and long for the manifestation of His will.
Usually, we pray to God in complete selfishness, first for our needs. It is a mistake. When we come into the presence of God to pray to Him, we must first consider His needs for Him. His needs among others come down to two aspects: that His kingdom come and that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The reign of God is righteousness, peace, and joy by the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). His will is our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4: 3), is that all come to salvation and that none perish (2 Peter 3: 9).
3. Ask for what you need for today.
This is the part of the prayer where we can present our needs to God. The daily bread of which Matthew 6:11 speaks is first of all spiritual food. We are spirits, let’s not forget, we just inhabit a body. It is not normal to worry more about our body than our mind, which is “the real us”. And the food of the spirit is the Word of God (Matthew 4: 4). Then we can pray for our other needs but keep in mind to pray for what we need today. Usually, out of fear of tomorrow or not having to pray tomorrow, we men like to stock up on provisions. But God wants us to pray to Him every day.
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4. Ask for forgiveness of our trespasses.
This is the part of the prayer where we must confess our sins. There is always some to confess believe me. The Bible tells us that whoever claims not to have sinned does not have the truth in him (1 John 1: 8). However, this should not be a simple routine or a formal ritual. Repentance is accepted by God only when it is sincere and comes from the heart. Repenting of our sins when we pray breaks down the walls of which Isaiah 59: 2 speaks, which are erected between God and us through our sins and prevent our hearing. But the Lord adds something that ultimately conditions everything: “… as we forgive those who have offended us. “. This is where things get a bit tricky for the resentful.
Matthew 6: 14-15.
“If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. “
In principle, this is where the prayer of most believers should end to be reconciled with those whom they have so long kept in their hearts. Those people who have hurt us (consciously and usually unconsciously) and who have still not been forgiven.
5. Asking for God’s help to temptation and to the evil one.
God does not tempt anyone the Bible tells us (James 1:13). It is not therefore a question of praying that God does not tempt us. It is a matter of asking for His grace to stand firm in the hour of temptation and in the face of the attacks of the evil one.
6. End with the Adoration by way of thanksgiving.
If you have prayed as the master teaches us by following in spirit this reference frame that he gave us in Matthew 6, then you can be assured of your answer. So you testify of it by worshiping Him for what He is and thanking Him for what He has done. You understand I hope, that prayer is enveloped in praise, adoration, and above all thanksgiving. They are at the beginning and at the end of any effective prayer.
Hope you find these 6 Effective ways to pray to God our Father helpful?