How Do I Pray?

Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer. The Bible tells us on multiple occasions, Jesus stayed up all night to pray: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12). Why? He’s God, right? Why does He need to pray?

During Jesus’ time on Earth, He was fully God and fully human. As a human, He was like us and needed consistent habits to sustain His relationship with God, His Father. For Jesus, prayer was a source of direction, courage, and connection with God—and prayer can be the same for us.

Here are some examples of what led Jesus to pray:

• Before making big decisions.
• When facing big, scary circumstances.
• When He felt distant from His Heavenly Father.

Check out how Jesus prepared to make a big choice - choosing His first followers: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles…” (Luke 6:12-13 NIV).

Jesus didn’t just pray before making big decisions. He also prayed to experience closeness with God and to find strength before facing difficult situations.

How can we develop a habit of prayer like Jesus? First, let’s talk about how Jesus didn’t pray:

• Jesus didn’t fill His prayers with fancy words.
• Jesus didn’t pray to impress the people around Him.
• Jesus didn’t pray with a list of demands for God.

Prayer is meant to be a personal conversation with God - like one with friends, family, or a mentor. Take the pressure off. Let go of how you think you should pray and just talk with God openly and honestly.

So, how did Jesus pray?

• Jesus made prayer a priority.
• Jesus prayed in the presence of others.
• Jesus prayed on His own.
• Jesus asked others to pray for Him.

Today, let’s start a habit of prayer. Simply take a few minutes in the morning, on your way home from school, work, or before going to bed to talk with God, or right now. Tell Him what you’re thankful for. Ask Him for what you need. Ask Him to help you hear Him speaking to you. As you do, you’ll discover a closer relationship with Jesus every day.