Praying for real

Unless I’m very much mistaken, I believe that nearly every person reading this article will have prayed at one time or another. If it is not something you do regularly then perhaps it is when, for whatever reason, you need something that you know is outside of your power to obtain. Maybe it isn’t your own personal need but a concern you have for someone else’s need, or at times of international crisis.

Jesus tells us a lot about praying. He encourages us to pray with faith in the goodness of God; to pray for our needs (which is not necessarily the same as our wants); to be persistent and not give up; to pray in accordance with God’s will as best we understand it. We are told not to be misled into thinking that we will receive if we are half-hearted or, what the Bible calls double-minded; we mustn’t imagine that using many words or flowery language in our prayers will somehow impress God. It is at this point we should check ourselves when praying set prayers lest they be empty ritual.

Perhaps you’d like to start the habit of praying but don’t know where to begin. Why not, in the privacy of your own heart, try paraphrasing what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. By paraphrasing I mean using your own words in order to be real. Something like this might be a guide:

Our Heavenly Father I want to honour your name.

May your royal rule be established and Your will be done in my life here on earth, as it is in heaven.

Please meet my needs this day, both small and great,

Forgiving my wrong thoughts, words and actions, while helping me to forgive others their shortfalls.

Lead me into the way of right living and deliver me from that which is rooted in evil.

I’ll gladly give the glory to You.

Please let it be so. Amen