Luke 11:1 "He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Today's episode talks about how there is no right or wrong way to pray. God does not need us to pray a certain way to answer our prayers. This episode does give a few examples of how I began to branch out and pray in different ways. These are just to give you some ideas in case you aren't sure where to start. Don't worry so much about saying the right thing. God just wants to be with us. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Is There A Right or Wrong Way to Pray?
Luke 11:1 "He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
Prayer has been part of my life ever since I can remember. When I was young, my mom or dad would come to my room at night and say prayers with me. We said the same prayer every night, as far as I can recall. “Dear God, please bless my mother and father, my brothers and sisters, my aunts and uncles, and my cousins and friends.” Sometimes, we would add, “Please also bless everyone we know and everyone we don’t know.” This was a very simple prayer, and yet it covered everyone. If you are wondering why we did not name our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, or cousins, it was because I come from a very large family. There are 11 children in my family, and my mother is the oldest of 10 children. So, if we were to name everyone, I would have never gotten to sleep.
Growing up Catholic, prayer was also part of our mass. We say the same prayers at mass every week, so we have plenty of opportunities to learn several prayers to use even when we are outside of mass. These prayers were our staple, and it felt great to have them when we wanted to pray. However, they did not tell us how to pray for specific ailments one might have or specific needs people would ask us to pray for. Well, that is not entirely true. If someone asks you to pray for them, a Hail Mary or an Our Father is an excellent choice. They did not give us much room to personalize them. I would hear other people I knew that would spontaneously come up with a prayer off the top of their head, and I thought that was amazing. Also, when people would say grace, and it was personal and individualized, I loved it. I wished I knew how to do that.
I know there is no right or wrong way to pray. The definition I just found for prayer when I looked it up online is the following: Prayer: a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship. So, if we are requesting something from God, or expressing our thanks, how can there be a right or wrong way to pray? Do you wonder, when we are saying thanks to your friend if you said it the right way? I doubt it. Do you question if you requested your combo meal from the fast food worker the correct way? Nope. Then why do we question how to pray? I am asking this question as much to myself as I am to you. Until a few years ago, I felt really uncomfortable praying out loud unless it was a prayer I had memorized, like the Our Father. A few years ago, I joined a charismatic prayer group, and I remember the first time they asked us to put our hand on our neighbor’s shoulder and pray over that person. I felt bad for the person I was praying over because they had me praying over them. I felt like I was not good enough to pray over them and that someone else’s prayers would be better. This may sound silly, but I am betting that many of you know exactly what I was feeling that day. Why do we struggle so much with wanting to say the right thing? I take comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who feels as though I do not know how to pray. Even the disciples, who were in the presence of Jesus, were unsure how to pray. In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.
I have been listening to people pray out loud at my prayer group for several years now, and I have realized that everyone prays differently. There is not just one way to pray, and there is no secret formula to say the correct prayer so that God will listen more closely. Do you ever feel that way, like God hears other people’s prayers more than he hears yours? No…it’s just me. In my family, we always say that my dad’s prayers go straight to heaven. We think that because he prays more often, that God hears his prayers more than ours. He is a prayer giant, and I am sure you know someone like this. I am sure you know what I am talking about. The truth is God is always listening. He listens to everyone’s prayers, not just those who are faithful to pray every day. It says in 1 John 5:14, " This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." The Bible goes on to say in 1 John 5:15, “And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." God is listening to your prayers, even if you did not word them eloquently, even if your prayer was quick, non-specific, etc. He hears you!
Now, having said all that, I do not expect that you will all of the sudden feel comfortable praying out loud just because someone told you that there is no right or wrong way to pray. Here are some of the ways that I became more comfortable praying out loud for people or even just praying to myself, but branching off from the prayers that I had memorized as a child.
· I started writing in a prayer journal. I started writing down what I wanted to pray for or how my day was. I started this at a time when I was struggling, and so sometimes it would just be me expressing to God my hurts, my confusions, my struggles. Other times I would be requesting help for others or myself. Sometimes I would thank him for all He has done. It was all very conversational; I started it as if I was writing Him a letter. I initially started with Dear Lord, but now I start it with Good Morning Dad.
· I started praying out loud for people when asked. Yes, I felt uncomfortable, and yes, I felt like I was doing it wrong. Then I reminded myself that there was no wrong way and no one was judging me. I believe God loves it when we step out in faith and step outside our comfort zone in order to show our love to others. The only way to grow is to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.
· I started reading the bible more. When you immerse yourself in God’s word, the words to pray over people come more easily. It is easier to call on God’s promises to us because you know what God has promised us. If you have tried to read the bible before and could not get through it, may I suggest you try again and start with the Gospels? They are more like stories than some of the Old Testament books.
These are a few ideas of things you could do to start praying more or to start praying differently. I hope you find them helpful. I will cover this topic again, as I know it is something many of us struggle with. Whenever I am praying or trying to serve God, and I think I may do it wrong or I may not be good enough, I think of a word that came to someone at one of my prayer group meetings. I will pass it along to you in case you find as much comfort in it as I have. Here is the word that was given, “My children, I love you to be with me. I do not need your efforts; I do not need your talents, for I alone will make you fruitful. Just relax, be empty, and be with me.” God does not need us to say the right thing; He wants us to come to Him and to be with Him, and He will make your prayers fruitful. It is not our efforts or talents that make our prayers come true. It is by the grace and goodness of God.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening to this episode. Lord, help us learn to pray with our whole hearts. Help us not just to say words but to really believe what we are saying. Help give us the words to say when we don’t know what to say. Help us to know that even if we can’t say anything, you are still there with us, and you know what we need. Lord, help us take the pressure off of ourselves and realize you don’t care how we pray; you want us to spend time with you. We love you so much, Lord. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!