How to Pray - (with a FREE prayer guide!)

Do you ever have a hard time praying? I know I do sometimes, and it just feels like I am talking to a wall. It seems like nothing is really happening, and I don’t really feel anything.

In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. This short prayer that He prayed contains some of the most well known verses in scripture. I can still quote it in the King James Version - even though I have never personally used that version.

But sometimes the familiarity of the verses make it hard to see what’s under the surface. Jesus lays out a guide for us for this direct connection we have with the Father, and the significance of that is not lost on me. Let’s look at it a little closer to see how we should pray, and use it as a guide to overcome that feeling like we aren’t making that connection to God.

Therefore, you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,

Your name be honored as holy.

This first section acknowledges who God is. God is holy. When I start out my prayers, I like to pick a characteristic of God and meditate on that for a minute. By meditate, I just mean, I talk about God to God. Let’s say, I pick holy as the characteristic for the day. I will simply spend a minute telling God how holy He is, and how thankful I am that He is.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

This next section focuses on God’s sovereignty, and our recognition that His ways are higher than our ways. I daily have to submit my will to His will, and this section is where I try to lay down any expectations that I may have, and ask God to reveal to me places in my life that I am not submitting to His leadership.

Give us today our daily bread.

The segment asking for provision is right in the middle, and is briefly touched on. After I have submitted my desires to God’s will, then I ask for the things in my life that are on my heart. I have a couple sections that I follow on this one, and you can download my full prayer guide here to see how I break this down even further.

And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

Confession and forgiveness. Here I try to name at least one specific sin that in my life that I need to confess. If I can’t think of one off the top of my head, I ask God to bring my sins to mind (there is usually more than one). Seeing my own sins, helps me to better forgive others in my life. If I am having a hard time forgiving someone in my life, I lay that down here too. I simply tell God that I am having a hard time with it, and I ask Him to help me forgive. I can’t do it without His help softening my heart.

And do not bring us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

Here I ask for protection from sin, not only for me, but also for those closest to me. I ask that my husband be protected from sin, as well as my family. This prayer doesn’t keep me from sinning, but it is just an extra level of protection over my life.

That is the end of the prayer in scripture, but I like to bookend it with more praise. I cannot tell you the depths of sin in my heart that God has saved me from, and I will never stop praising Him for all He has done for me.

Now let me be clear - there is nothing special about this formula. But if I want to live like Jesus, I also want to pray like Jesus said to pray. This isn’t the only time I pray during the day, but I like to think of this as starting the conversation, and keep talking with God throughout my day. If I start the conversation in the morning, I am more likely to hear Him throughout the day.

If you would like to download my Printable Prayer Guide, you can do that here. I would love it if you would tell me on Instagram if you have any prayer habits!