Teach Us to PraySample

PRAISE

Are you ever nervous about praying? Do you sometimes feel unsure about what to say and how to say it? Many people feel that way. But the Bible shows us that prayer shouldn’t be overwhelming or stressful.

When Jesus’ closest friends asked him how to pray, he gave them a very short and simple example. It didn’t include long sentences or fancy words. It wasn’t solemn or formal. It wasn’t stuffy or strange.

Jesus said prayer should be honest, direct, short, and simple (which doesn’t mean it’s wrong to pray for long periods of time or to pray about confusing and complicated things — Jesus himself prayed for a long time the night before his death because he wanted to be with his Father and because he had so many thoughts and feelings to pour out).

Jesus’ sample prayer — often called the Lord’s Prayer — has five sections that teach us how to pray and teach us about God. The first part reminds us that God is worthy of our PRAISE.

Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

God is our Father who dearly loves us, but he is also the Lord who is very different from us. He is above and beyond us. He is more than us. He is perfect and holy.

We can’t fully understand God’s holy nature, but we can draw near to it, trust it, and rest in it. He is the good, perfect, loving Father who invites us into his strong arms and who also deserves our highest honor, praise, and worship.

Jesus says to begin our prayers with praise. Tell God that you believe he is both your loving Father and also the Almighty Lord. Speak a word of truth about his power and might. You can use your own words, you can use words from throughout the Bible (the Psalms are filled with statements about God’s majesty that you can use), or you can use the words Jesus gave us in the Lord’s Prayer.

The specific words aren’t important. There’s nothing magical about using a certain phrase. It’s the heart behind them that matters most. Praise your Father, the Lord, with a sincere heart, trusting that he hears and understands what you mean.

TO THINK ABOUT

• How and when do you currently pray?
• What things do you want to learn about prayer?
• Why do you think Jesus took time to teach his closest friends how to pray?
• What are some things you can praise the Father for?