Pray

How do we pray?



This can be a tough subject believe it or not.  I mean, how do we pray?  Jesus gave us an example:



Our Father, who is in heaven.  How holy is your name!  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done.  On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily needs, and forgive us of our wrong doings, as we forgive those who do wrong against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.



There was a time I was really scared to pray.  It was actually only a few years ago.  I realized just how holy God is, and how unholy and inadequate I really am.  So I would write my prayers down in a notebook instead.  I mean, it's still a way of praying, but for some reason writing them down helped me a lot.  I did this for a couple years.  I write them down sometimes, but not so much anymore.  I've learned that God really does want to hear my prayers.  Whether it's written down, praying in your head, or praying aloud (which I RARELY pray aloud in front of people).  He wants to hear your prayers.  It's a way we can communicate with our Father.  Typically we don't hear his voice auditorally (is that even a real word?), but we do see what he says in his WORD.

If God is our Father, how do we talk to him?  Just like you would talk to anyone else (in my opinion).  He wants to hear what's on your heart.  When I was extremely angry or distressed, sometimes I'd say some words that would be considered VERY disrespectful - especially to someone who's so holy.  I'm known to have a mouth worse than a sailor - especially when I'm very angry.  Luckily, he's a big God and can handle it.  It's not something I would recommend though.  I've been working very hard to bite my tongue now.  God wants to hear what is on your heart.  If you are in pain, tell him!  If you are angry, tell him!  If you are in despair, tell him!  If you're overwhelmed with joy, tell him!

He already knows the desires of your heart, but he wants to hear it from you.  Isn't that what every good parent does?  A good parent may know what their child wants, but would rather hear it come from their child.  A good parent also won't give their child necessarily everything they want though.  Sometimes, the parent has something even better in store for them.  How much more could our heavenly Father want the best for us!

There have been desires I have had for a very long time, and yet I still don't have them.  It hurts, I'm not going to lie.  I often ask God in my tears "Why can't I have this?  Is it so wrong for me to have this?"  Now it doesn't mean he will never give it to me, but I think it's highly unlikely he will.  As much as it hurts though, I know he knows what's best for me.  It may sound cliche, but if I can't have this desire, he's got something better in store for me that I probably have never considered or even thought of!  We have to trust him though.  It's like when a child wants that beanie baby (man I must be old, lol).  They cry and cry, even have a fit right there in the store screaming "I want it!  I want it!"  Meanwhile, the parent has a giant stuffed animal, one just as big as their child, just waiting for them!



Cast all your your worries and cares to God, for he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7



Whatever is on your heart, talk to God about it, he cares about you.  He loves you SO much!  Tell him your concerns, your worries, your anger, your pain, and even your joys!  When I'd pray, I used to just tell him what I wanted and my complaints.  But then, I realized I needed to praise him too!  So for a while, I would pray for others, and then praise him.  I wouldn't really pray for myself.  Then I realized, he still wants to hear about my needs too!  So now I've learned to do both.  Sometimes I'll start off by praising him about something, then I'll tell him my needs/wants and my prayers for others.  Then I end it with praising him again.  That's usually how I do it anyway.  It's different for everyone.  Sometimes, I don't start out with praising though.  When I'm in a lot of pain or I'm angry, sometimes I'll start off with "Why are you doing this to me?"  But I ALWAYS end my prayers with praise.  No matter what pain I'm going through, I still praise him because that's what he deserves.  He deserves ALL praise.

No matter what you're going through, share it will your Father.  He's listening 😁