"How" to pray

[dmcfall77]

Hi!:wave

After talking to my boss at work yesterday, i am wondering if there is a specific way to pray? He said that we are to follow P.R.A.I.S.E--first you praise God, then you repent, then, well, i can't remember it all.
I don't pray that way, but another christian woman and my boss both said that you are supposed to praise God and adore Him first..then repent.
Help! I want to pray effectively and ferociously to lift up all non-believers and believers!

Thanks!

[KrispyKritter]

Well... the P.R.A.I.S.E. thing is ok, but quite honestly... I believe God desires a relationship with us. Try talking to your spouse using the P.R.A.I.S.E. format every time. If I did that with my wife I probably would have a lot of cold nights, if you know what I mean.

How about just talking to God?

I really do not like formatted prayers.

Formatted prayers remind me too much of Catholic prayers... or worse... WOF! (If I pray in this manner, God is obligated to give me what I want)

I'm not saying that's you... I'm just explaining why I dont like "formats".

Just be real and talk to your Father.

[AlishaGail]

I agree with Krispy (I know, KK, that's amazing isn't it? :P: )...

My relationship with God has never been better since I've been through such a hard time in the last year. Often I would be reduced to utter brokeness before Him, sometimes approaching Him in total sorrow, shame, happiness, and even complete anger. Since such extreme emotions were overtaking me at the time, my own prayers were very informal... First from whatever drove me to my knees in brokeness to an honest and open 'communication' with Him. Of course, none of us are such extremely upset/emotional at all times, but now in my regular prayer I'm the same way. Honest, open, and I don't follow a script.

However, sometimes when it feels like you're hitting that 'brick wall', formatted prayers may be better for you to start with until you hit that personal feeling. :):

Lisha

[KrispyKritter]

Originally posted by AlishaGail
I agree with Krispy (I know, KK, that's amazing isn't it? :P: )...

I knew there was hope for you! :thumb

[dmcfall77]

normally i just start talking to Him....but I think I read somewhere in the Bible that it is best to repent of your sins before praying for others....which makes sense to me. I know that I have a long way to go with this relationship with Him---but thankfully, both parties are willing to work at it to make it the best it can be ;):

[AlishaGail]

:P: @ KK :lol

[blessedone]

Luke 11:1-4

1 And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (praise)Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (seeking God's guidance)
3Give us day by day our daily bread. bringing him our needs and concerns)
4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us (repentence) And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." (requests for strength in times of temptation or to have tempting situations removed.)

Since I've been praying according to the instructions of my Lord and Savior my prayer life has grown in leaps and bounds and brought me closer than ever to my God.

[Mark Armstrong]

P.R.A.I.S.E. is probably just a tool for figuring out what to pray about.

Another acronym used in thinking about what one might include in one's prayers is A.C.T.S.

A--Adoration.
C--Confession.
T--Thanksgiving.
S--Supplication.

Without doing a Google search for the answer, I would guess that P.R.A.I.S.E. might stand for (1) Praising God for answers to previous prayers, (2) Repenting of sins committed since the last time one has prayed, (3) Adoration, telling God what you think of Him, (4) Intercession for the needs of others, (4) Supplication for one's own needs, and (5) Expectation that God will indeed answer the prayer in His own time according to His purpose.

[Jade]

Matthew 6
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[1] ' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.


Philippians 4
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Prayer is a way of communicating to God, and for Him to answer back. When I pray, I do it in a conversational way. I find that this opens my heart more to Him and allows me to better understand His desires. Sometimes I pray in a more formal way. I heartedly recommend you focus less on what words or form you use and focus more on opening your heart up to the Lord. The more you pray, the more comfortable you will be when you pray.

[lookinupval]

I find it natural to first offer praise and thanks, then talk to the Lord about what's going on, then end with more praise and thanks. Guess I'm closer to the A.C.T.S. thing, but my goodness, it would be so hard to take inventory to make sure I covered all of the acronyms if I tried to do that P.R.A.I.S.E. thing.

[My Abba's Child]

Originally posted by KrispyKritter
Well... the P.R.A.I.S.E. thing is ok, but quite honestly... I believe God desires a relationship with us. Try talking to your spouse using the P.R.A.I.S.E. format every time. If I did that with my wife I probably would have a lot of cold nights, if you know what I mean.

How about just talking to God?

I really do not like formatted prayers.

Formatted prayers remind me too much of Catholic prayers... or worse... WOF! (If I pray in this manner, God is obligated to give me what I want)

I'm not saying that's you... I'm just explaining why I dont like "formats".

Just be real and talk to your Father.

Formats are good for new Christians who are just learning how to communicate with the Lord. However, HIS prayer is the best format we could possibly have:

Our Father who is in heaven
Hallowed by your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Do you see the format in that prayer? Adoration, exaltation, calling for God's will to be done, not our own, supplication for our needs (He knows them before we do), repentance and the promise to forgive as we are forgiven, that God would lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil (our sinful nature, the world, and Satan & co.), and exaltation and acknowledgement of God's omnipotence, glory and power.

These are NOT the exact words you have to use. This is a format, an idea of what we should be talking to God about. Repeating these exact words over and over again would NOT be a good way to communicate with ANYONE, much less God (and Jesus spoke against vain repetition in prayers). Prayers should be like conversations with someone who knows you intimately. Jesus is your friend and your brother, feel free to speak to Him as such. But, He is also your Lord and your God.... lest familiarity should breed contempt. :laugh

Once you get used to the concepts that should be a regular part of your constant conversation with God, you can pretty much drop the formatting and just talk from your heart. :): Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer for a reason... we are all new disciples at some point in time... we don't know HOW to pray, this gets us started. :D:

In His love,