what dose the bible say about praying

How do you pray and is there a serten way?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lil' Robin (Kyler) on September 5, 2009 at 1:16pm

Is there a way to pray

Permalink Reply by Suzy (Bluenosed Water Leaper) on September 5, 2009 at 3:25pm

There are several references throughout the Bible that discuss prayer. Check the concordance for all sorts of references to prayer.
But one that stands out in particular is Luke 11:1-4. It is basically the Lord's Prayer. One of Jesus' disciples asked him basically, "how do we pray" and He said to them "When you pray, say...." and it goes into the Lord's prayer......
Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed by Your name.
Your kingdom Come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

which, I believe, can be used exactly the way it is stated, or basically a guideline for talking to the Lord. Respecting Him, Thanking Him, praising Him, Asking Him for help or forgiveness or guidance or wisdom.
I think it's about what is in YOUR HEART when you pray. And most important, don't just pray.... Pray and then give yourself time to Listen to what He might have to say.
And there are times I believe when sometimes it is not always what we wanted to hear!

ALSO.. TO ME, the most IMPORTANT PRAYER OF ALL.... Is asking the Lord into your heart, and accepting Jesus as your savior and asking the Lord for forgiveness and to start a new life. Because that leads to your eternal salvation.

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3)

And in your own words... you can say it something like this too... You don't have to follow words from the Bible.

"God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen."

Then your name is written in the Book of Life.... a true gift from God.

Alot to think about I guess .... But it's ALL ABOUT YOUR HEART WHEN IT COMES TO PRAYER!!!

Hope I helped some....??????......... Have a great day!

Permalink Reply by Amaryllis (The Flying Unicorn) on September 5, 2009 at 5:04pm

One book I really suggest you get is "Prayer That Moves Mountains" by Gordon Lindsay. Don't worry, it's really realy short, but it will totally answer your question. It talks about how to pray according to what the Bible teaches. =)

Permalink Reply by Ben Burton (Mr. Frumious) on September 9, 2009 at 11:26pm

I think Suzy sums it up pretty nicely. Just a few supporting thoughts...

The Lord's Prayer, found in Matthew and Luke, is the classic model for us to follow; calling on the Father in reverence and humility, acknowledging His greatness and glory, supplicating our needs, asking forgiveness of sin. The Lord prefaces his prayer in Matt 6:7 advising us to avoid "vain repetitions" and in Matt 6:9 instructing us, "After this manner therefore pray ye..." From this, we can understand that the Lord's Prayer is more of a pattern for us to follow, rather than something to recite repetitively.

Suzy lists a few other references regarding prayer. I'll also add John 17 as a great example of an intercessory prayer, where Jesus pleads with the Father for the benefit of His disciples. Verse 9: "I pray for them."

Matt 5:44 teaches that we should pray for those that despitefully use and persecute us.

Through sincere prayer, knowledge can be opened up to us. James 1:5 reads: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

As Suzy mentions, prayer needs to come from the heart. Through prayer, we gain a personal relationship with God. How can we strengthen this relationship, unless we open up our heart and mind to him? God loves us and is always there for us. Those times when we're not "in the mood" to pray, or feel like we don't need to pray, are the times we need to pray most.

Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Suzy (Bluenosed Water Leaper) on September 12, 2009 at 4:18pm

Well put Ben.... ;-)

Ben Burton said:

I think Suzy sums it up pretty nicely. Just a few supporting thoughts...

The Lord's Prayer, found in Matthew and Luke, is the classic model for us to follow; calling on the Father in reverence and humility, acknowledging His greatness and glory, supplicating our needs, asking forgiveness of sin. The Lord prefaces his prayer in Matt 6:7 advising us to avoid "vain repetitions" and in Matt 6:9 instructing us, "After this manner therefore pray ye..." From this, we can understand that the Lord's Prayer is more of a pattern for us to follow, rather than something to recite repetitively.

Suzy lists a few other references regarding prayer. I'll also add John 17 as a great example of an intercessory prayer, where Jesus pleads with the Father for the benefit of His disciples. Verse 9: "I pray for them."

Matt 5:44 teaches that we should pray for those that despitefully use and persecute us.

Through sincere prayer, knowledge can be opened up to us. James 1:5 reads: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

As Suzy mentions, prayer needs to come from the heart. Through prayer, we gain a personal relationship with God. How can we strengthen this relationship, unless we open up our heart and mind to him? God loves us and is always there for us. Those times when we're not "in the mood" to pray, or feel like we don't need to pray, are the times we need to pray most.

Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Jack Stevenson The RowelPyranto on September 20, 2009 at 3:10pm

Well the "Model prayer" Jesus gave his disciples I think is taken to literal. Where people think they HAVE to say exactly the same words. But God wants to have a relationship with us, that said, do you repeat the same words every time you talk to your best friend?

Permalink Reply by Tara Parker-winged snow leopard on October 5, 2009 at 5:02pm

Well put everyone, though personally, I don't really ever think of the lords prayer whehn i'm praying, I just talk to him as if he's my friend. Obviously there are some differences in the way I priase him vs how I compliment my friends, but, for the most part I just talk to him. I don't really follow any guidelines...

however, I agree with what you are saying about the lords prayer being a guideline, but I don't think it is meant to be strictly follwed. It is certainly a good way to pray, no doubt about that, I just don't think it's the only way to pray. I don't follow a strict guideline when I'm talking to my friends, so I don't follow a strict guideline when I'm talking to the lord.

Permalink Reply by Kevin R. (Flaming Arba) on November 14, 2009 at 4:13pm

I am currently working through Crafted Prayer by Graham Cooke, and one of the insights that it has shown me is that prayer is much more "productive*" when we are praying God's will, not ours. Graham calls it "listening" prayer: Asking God what He would like us to pray when we consider the issues surrounding our lives. *productive is used here with some reservation, but I hope you can see what I am going for there.

Permalink Reply by Aaron Mudkip Thielmeyer on January 16, 2010 at 9:21am

You said it all Suzy! I was coming to answer the question with, "You can pray however you want to" but you totally nailed it! A PRAYER SHOULD COME FROM YOUR HEART!

Suzy (Bluenosed Water Leaper) said:

There are several references throughout the Bible that discuss prayer. Check the concordance for all sorts of references to prayer.
But one that stands out in particular is Luke 11:1-4. It is basically the Lord's Prayer. One of Jesus' disciples asked him basically, "how do we pray" and He said to them "When you pray, say...." and it goes into the Lord's prayer...... Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom Come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

which, I believe, can be used exactly the way it is stated, or basically a guideline for talking to the Lord. Respecting Him, Thanking Him, praising Him, Asking Him for help or forgiveness or guidance or wisdom.
I think it's about what is in YOUR HEART when you pray. And most important, don't just pray.... Pray and then give yourself time to Listen to what He might have to say.
And there are times I believe when sometimes it is not always what we wanted to hear!

ALSO.. TO ME, the most IMPORTANT PRAYER OF ALL.... Is asking the Lord into your heart, and accepting Jesus as your savior and asking the Lord for forgiveness and to start a new life. Because that leads to your eternal salvation.

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3)

And in your own words... you can say it something like this too... You don't have to follow words from the Bible.

"God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen."

Then your name is written in the Book of Life.... a true gift from God.

Alot to think about I guess .... But it's ALL ABOUT YOUR HEART WHEN IT COMES TO PRAYER!!!

Hope I helped some....??????......... Have a great day!