How to Pray

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

- Matthew 6:5-15 (KJV)

Note that this is only an outline of how to pray.

God just wants to hear from us, in our own words. Honest, sincere, etc.

Just talk to Him, and He will answer your prayer.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
- 1 John 5:14-15 (KJV)

When we pray we ask God for His forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- 1 John 1:9 (KJV)

The idea is that all our sins are confessed so that they can be forgiven.

You can ask God to point out your sins.

It's also intesting to look at David's psalms. He often starts describing how miserable he is, but then the second half of the psalm he acknowledges God's promises.

For example:

  • I'm miserable, and my enemies want to kill me.
  • BUT
  • You're an awesome God, and you will deliver me.

Acknowledging God's promises in this way is a very powerful way of praying, and it will strenghten your faith in His promises.

This is also what Corrie ten Boom said. She sometimes had the Bible open as to where God's promise was, and then just claimed it. She said that because God had promised, He must now do it. She also said that God likes it when we mean "business" in this way. This way of praying is very simple, and straightforward. I love it.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
- Matthew 7:7 (KJV)

To learn more about how Jesus prayed, please read John 17.

Amen by the way means something like "so be it".

So be it!