Prayer is communicating directly with God. It is not reserved only for clergy but is something anyone can do by speaking from the heart to God freely and spontaneously. The key aspects of prayer are that it allows us to develop a personal relationship with God and to talk to Him like a friend. When praying, people can ask for forgiveness, tell God their needs, give Him their worries and cares, and thank Him. The Bible provides guidance on how to pray, such as not using repetitive or empty prayers but praying with faith, worship, and expecting God to answer.

1. What Is Prayer… –17th
July 2016
“Answerme when I call to you, my righteousGod.Giveme relieffrom my distress; have mercy on me
and hear my prayer.”( Psalm4:1).
Prayeris nota mysteriouspractice reservedonlyforclergyandthe religiouslydevout.Prayerissimply
communicatingwithGod.Believerscanpray fromthe heart,freely,spontaneously,andintheirown
words.If prayer isa difficultareaforyou,learnthese basicsprinciplesof prayerandhow to applythem
inyour life because Prayerisourdirectline withheaven. Itisa communicationprocessthatallowsusto
talkto God! He wantsus to communicate withHim, like aperson-to-personphonecall. Tomanypeople,
prayerseemscomplicated,butitissimplytalkingtoGod.Here are some pointsaboutwhatprayeris:
Many people questionwhatisprayerbecause theydesiretopray,butdon’t know how. The first
questionone maywantto knowwouldbe: Whatdo I say? Prayingislike talkingtoyourbestfriend! But
whenwe trulybelieve Godasour friend,we begintodevelopaclose andpersonal relationshipunlike all
our ‘otherfriends,becauseHislove isunconditional…This Love of Godis beyondourscope of human
understandingbecausewe cannottrulydothis…althoughwe maypromise otherwise.Thereforemost
importantlyourprayercan beginwithseekingfortunesfromGod’sforall whatwe may have consciously
or unconsciouslydoinourday to daylife.Butthiscannot be a simple meaninglessstatement.We need
to trulybelieveof oursinfulness,repentforsuchdeedsand seek Hisforgiveness. OurfaithinJesus
Christas our saviourenablesustoreceive Hisforgivenessandthus have salvation, becauseitisonlyHe
whocan doso. We can learnthisin Acts 4:12, “Salvationisfoundinnoone else, for there is noother
name under heaven givento mankindby whichwe mustbe saved.” We can learnfromthe following
whenwe pray:
Whenyoupray you can ask Jesustoforgive youof your sinsandmake you new inHim as we learnfrom
Acts 3:19), “Repent, then, andturn to God,so that your sinsmay be wiped out, that timesof
refreshingmay come from the Lord”. Inyour prayersto Him you can tell Himyourneeds steadfastly
believingHiswonderfulprovision!Dependingonone’slevelof faith,we cangive all ourworriesand
cares to God,for he lovesyouand caresabout whathappenstoyou! We can learnthisfrom 1 Peter 5:7,
“Castall your anxietyon him becausehe cares for you”. In ourprayerswe needto remembertothank
Him,for He diedonthe cross at Calvaryfor us! We can learnthisfrom John 3:16, “For Godso lovedthe
world thathe gave hisonlySon, so that everyone who believesin himwill not perish but have eternal
life”
Anotherquestionwouldbe: HowDo I Say It? Here’show I have learnedtoapproachthe Saviorof my
life. Mostimportantlywhenwe seekHisprovisionforuswe mustdo so withabsolute confidenceand
belief thatHe will enable:We canlearnwhenJesussaid:“Becauseyouhave so little faith.Truly I tell
you,if you have faithas small asa mustard seed, youcan say to this mountain,‘Movefromhere to
there,’ and it will move. Nothingwill be impossibleforyou.” (Matthew17:20). We can doso because
of Christandour faithinhim.We can now come fearlesslyintoGod'spresence,assuredof hisglad
welcome.We canlearnthisfromEphesians3:12, “Inhimand throughfaithin himwe may approach
Godwith freedom and confidence”.Whenwe pray,we can doso boldly throughourfaithin our
graciousGod, whois merciful,andwe will findgrace tohelpuswhenwe needit We can learnthis from
Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approachGod’sthrone of grace withconfidence,so that we mayreceive
mercy and findgrace to help us inour time of need”.

2. Whenwe pray we can have joy inour hearts,because He will show usthe wayof life.Insteadof walking
inthe dark,whenwe pray infaith,He will show usthe correct way.Therefore we receive wonderfuljoy
inHis presence aswe readfrom Acts 2:28, “Youhave made knownto me the paths oflife; youwill fill
me with joy inyour presence.” Our prayersshouldnotbe a mundane exercise,butaprayer made
throughexpectationthatHe isgoingto deliver. We canlearnthiswhenthe Psalmistsays:“Inthe
morning, LORD,you hear my voice; in the morningI lay my requests before youand wait expectantly.”
(Psalm5:3).
As Christianswe wouldlike toknow: Whatdoesthe Bible Say? WhenHis disciples askedJesusasto how
theyshouldpray,we can read His teachingin Matthew 6:7-13: “Andwhen you pray,do not keep on
babblinglikepagans,forthey think they will be heard becauseof their many words. 8
Do not be like
them, for your Father knowswhat you need before you ask him.9
“This,then,ishow youshould
pray:“‘OurFather inheaven, hallowedbe your name… (Matthew 6:7-9). We can also learn that the
bible teachesusthatour prayersshould notonly be done forourselvesbut we shouldalso prayforeach
other. Jesussetan example forusonwhatto pray. He prayedforHis disciplesandforeverygeneration
to come that wouldfollowHim.Hisprayerwas thatGod protectandstrengthenthemaslongas they
were inthisworld.Jesusalsoprayedforthose whowouldcome tobelieveinHimthroughthe Gospel
message whenwe read John17. From same we can derive: “Myprayer isnot for them alone.I pray
alsofor those who will believein me through their message, 21
that all of them may be one, Father,
just as youare inme andI am in you. Maythey alsobe in us sothat the worldmay believe that you
have sent me” (John17 : 20 -21)
We can learnfromthe bible thatwe can reach God in manyways.It teachesuson the needforabsolute
faith.Therefore whenwe praytoGod we mustPray withfaith. “Andwithoutfaithit isimpossibleto
please God,becauseanyone whocomes to him must believethat he existsand that he rewards those
who earnestlyseek him.” (Hebrews 11:6). We can alsolearnthat the bible tellsusto
Pray withworship and reverence.We can learn from Psalm99:5, “Exaltthe LORD our God!Bow low
before hisfeet, for he is holy!” Therefore we praytothe readeras statedin Philippians1:9 : “I pray
that your love foreach other will overflowmore and more, andthat you will keep ongrowingin your
knowledgeand understanding” .

3. “