How Do You Get Started with Prayer?

 

Praying can be a challenging concept for us humans, whether you were raised in a Christian home or not. The act of saying a prayer seems so simple, yet getting started can be intimidating. So, how do you get started with prayer?

My Early Experience with Prayer

My own experience with prayer was pretty limited as a child. My family said grace before our Sunday dinners and before our holiday meals. I was also taught bedtime prayers as a young child. But my true experiences with prayer didn’t come until I was already an adult.

After I started attending church with my young family, I became active in various church activities. My faith was only a bud at the time, and prayers were said mostly at church. But then I joined our church’s intercessory prayer group. That was a huge step for me as my faith continued to grow.

What Did I Learn About Prayer?

That intercessory group, along with some discipleship courses I took, taught me a lot about prayer. For one thing, God wants to have a relationship with each of His children. The communication within this relationship generally happens through prayer, the Bible, through His creation, in dreams, through the Holy Spirit, and our very thoughts.

Understand—this communication is not an invasion. God does not just enter your mind and take control. No, it doesn’t work like that at all. But He does talk through each of these methods, and it can take time to learn to “hear” His voice and what He’s saying.

Here’s what I learned about prayer in the early years of my walk:

1. God Wants to Hear from Us

Yes, you read that correctly. God, our Heavenly Father, wants to hear from each one of us and be in a relationship with us. Whether we turn to Him or not, He takes care of us and loves us.

When you approach God with reverence and humility, He will be there waiting. He knows your sins; however, through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, those sins have been forgiven. Through Christ, after we accept Him as our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer and repent of our sins, we can dare to approach the throne of God in prayer.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV

 

2. Give God Reverence

God has revealed Himself to us and to the world; as we notice Him more and get to know Him better, it’s not unusual to feel drawn to prayer. Through our experiences, we learn that God is our Creator, Sustainer, Heavenly Father, and more. We are entirely dependent on Him, and as it says in Hebrews (above), we can approach Him not with fear but with love and reverence.

Reverence is showing God immense respect and love. It’s showing Him honor, thanking Him, and obeying Him. Another word that may make some sense is “hallow.” In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says, “Hallowed be Thy name.” What does that mean?

The word “hallow” means “to make holy or set apart for holy use, or to respect greatly: venerate,” according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. But why would we say, “…hallowed be Thy name”?

When we say these words in the prayer, it means that we’re offering God reverence, respect, love, and honor. We recognize that our Father is holy and deserves our respect, love, and honor. It is with this mindset that we should approach our Heavenly Father, our Creator and Sustainer.

3. Focus on God, Not the Prayer

When we pray, our focus should be on God, not our words. This is one stumbling block many new believers deal with. They focus on their words during prayer, fumbling with words to sound like the King James Version of the Bible (which is beautiful). But when we pray, the words need to be our very own. We don’t have to use stilted, formal language when talking to God. It’s not necessary.

The fact is that being sincere in our words and prayers is what He really wants. When you talk with a loved one, how do you communicate? Do you use flowery, formal language with one another? Probably not! When you come to God in prayer, speak to Him using your normal language and words. It’s OK. Approaching Him in prayer using this approach means you can feel more relaxed, sincere, and honest. This is necessary for effective communication with God (or humans).

4. Avoid Formulas

Another issue new believers may have is how to pray—what form to use. There are many “formulas” given for prayer, and these can be helpful. However, if you continuously rely on these, you’ll find prayer becomes dull and lifeless over time. Remember, God meets us where we are. If we’re an emotional mess, scared, etc. God meets us right there. No matter if we mumble, God hears the prayers of our minds and hearts. He also understands us when we’re not able to pray with words.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26 NKJV

Even if we can’t find the words, the Holy Spirit helps us pray.

5. Get Creative Once in a While

Many people believe there’s only one position, one manner, etc., to use when we pray to God. That’s simply not true.

God doesn’t focus on what position we take. Instead, He looks at our hearts. So, what position is best for praying?

You can pray while hiking, walking, shopping, washing dishes, and more! You can choose to bow, kneel, or lie prostrate. With so many possibilities, it’s possible to get creative with the ways you pray. As long as you come to God with reverence and heart focused on Him, He will hear your prayers every time.

6. Praying Can Be Challenging  

To be honest, there may be times when prayer is not easy and it can feel like a weight on the spirit. What we need to understand in that case is that the “weight” is not caused by God but by us. It may be things going on in our lives, we’re tired, sick, dealing with tons of stress, etc. Just to be honest, prayer is not always easy; however, if we get a little creative, prayer will come to life again.

Getting creative doesn’t have to be more than taking a short walk, reading the Bible, or a good Christian book. Maybe you see a Christian movie that inspires you to pray with more heart again. What I’m trying to say is that there is no one position, method, or formula in which to pray to God.

God wants us to come to Him with honest, open hearts, whether we’re overflowing with joy, feeling down, or tired. Sometimes it’s necessary to do things a little differently to get the fire back in our prayers again. Still, having seasons when prayer isn’t full of fire is normal.  Don’t fear those times—it’s OK, and you’ll eventually get through it. The main thing is to keep praying and keep that communication open with our Father.

7. Prayer is a Conversation

Finally, remember that prayer is a two-way conversation between us and God. Once you’ve talked to God, it’s time to sit back and listen to what He may have to say. Does God really speak to us? Yes, He does.

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

Once we’ve finished talking to God, we must sit quietly and focus on Him. This is not empty-minded meditation—this is prayer focused on listening to God. You don’t empty your mind (as in New Age meditation). You focus your mind and thoughts on God, waiting to see if He sends a message through the Holy Spirit into your mind as you’re praying. While you may not “hear” anything, know that God has heard your prayers. 

Sometimes, we have to wait for an answer, and that’s OK. But the more we pray, the more confidence we develop, especially when we see that God’s answered our prayers. God may not answer right during your prayer time but at another time. This is why we are told to pray without ceasing.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

 

These are the things I’ve learned about prayer over many years; however, don’t think it takes that long to learn. In my case, I have always been a bit of a skeptic and stubborn. So, this made my realizations and learning take longer than it might have otherwise. Each person’s walk is different and unique—each is a journey based on loving God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, prayer, service, and Bible study.

If you find this all somewhat overwhelming and confusing, that’s OK. Once you get started with prayer, your love for God will deepen, and you will learn to pray, even when it’s hard to pray. This is part of the great journey of walking with the One Who loves each of us.

My prayer is that these blog posts will help you find the Lord and know that you’re not alone.

God bless,