How to Start

It is good practice to begin our prayer times by thanking God for who he is and what he’s done.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).

Yes, there will be times when because there is a crisis we need to cry out for his immediate help, but just as you would think it very odd if you and I met for a coffee and the first thing I did was to ask you to give me something, so when we draw near to our Heavenly Father it is good to start with appreciation for all he has given and done.

Look at the way Paul prays. He begins almost every one of his thirteen letters by telling the person or the church what he sees God doing in them, and what he is thanking God for.

Indeed, at the end of 1 Thessalonians he tells the church of very young Christians to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (5:18).

Thanking God changes us. Our mood becomes more grateful and positive. We see life more from God’s Point of View and less from our own point of view. This makes our faith and trust and belief in God stronger. Even if we are facing a difficult day by remembering who God is, and the sort of God he is, and remembering what he has done in history, in our lives, and in the church throughout the world, then we begin to see our situation more from his Perspective and less from ours.

Can I recommend that you start a list, (perhaps on your laptop or phone so that you can keep on adding to it), so you can use it when you "go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:6).