What is Prayer
Prayer is how we communicate with our God. Jesus modeled how to pray for his disciples, in what we call "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-13). Jesus emphasized these points in His prayer:
- Pray with reverence to our Heavenly Father.
- Seek God's will through prayer.
- Ask God for forgiveness for our sins.
- Forgive others just as Christ forgave us.
- Ask God to provide for our daily needs.
- Ask for protection from our enemies and from evil.
We should be respectful in our prayers, but prayer doesn't have to be eloquent or follow an exact pattern. God wants us to seek Him, just as we would seek out and talk to our family and friends on a daily basis.
If you are unsure what to say, take comfort that the Holy Spirit is there to help. Romans 8:26-27 says, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."