In my last post, we took a deeper look at the timeless practice of prayer and recognised that it is an intimate conversation with God.

This conversation is central to the relationship we can have with Him, and when viewed this way, prayer becomes a wonderful means of deepening that relationship, and helps us know how to approach God. 

Approaching prayer

Let’s think about this in terms of the relationships we have with people in our every day life…

If you don’t know someone very well, you may start a conversation with them by introducing yourself, explaining why you’re speaking to them, and ask them who they are too. 

In the same way, if you feel like you don’t really know God, you may start off with more simple prayers, that could look like:

“Hello God, I’m sorry I’ve not lived my life in a way that recognises you but I’d like to get to know you better. Things have been really hard in my life recently, and I could do with some hope. I recognise that you are a giver of hope and would like to get to know you more. Please will you show me more of who you are. Help me to get to know you better through the Bible and other people.” 

However, if you now go to the other side of the relationships spectrum and think about someone that you know really well, what would a conversation look like with them? 

You would recognise them for who they are in your life – perhaps a spouse or close friend. It would likely be much deeper than your usual conversation. Perhaps you would share with them things you wouldn’t usually share with others, or admit to things that you wouldn’t tell just anyone. You may ask them to help you in different areas of your life. 

For those that know God more intimately, your conversation with Him would mirror the intimacy of someone you know well – and so would the regularity of speaking to Him. 

Wherever you are on this spectrum of relationship with God, approaching God in prayer can be as simple or as deep as your relationship with Him – and the goal is always to grow closer. 

Do we have to pray in a certain way? 

There are lots of different types, reasons and circumstances for prayer. I pray constantly throughout the day. I pray for the small things, I pray for the big things. I pray for help in every day situations, and even pray for random people that I pass on the street. 

However, it’s important to not just be doing these kinds of prayers. I love that I can constantly turn to God in prayer, and that He is with me throughout each day, wherever I am. But I also need to recognise Him as an Almighty God that deserves a level of reverence, worship and awe. 

It’s good for us to reflect on our lives in relation to God and the way that He calls us to live. It’s important to be on guard against temptation and where we feel weak, and ask for safe-keeping from this. It’s a privilege to be able to ask for comfort in situations we’re scared of, and to be able to pray for the wellbeing of the people that we love. 

Maintaining reverence reminds us of God’s majesty while recognising His constant presence in our everyday life fosters intimacy.

A great example of prayer

For longer form prayers, it can sometimes be a struggle to know where to start – there can be so much to prayer for! 

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught us how to pray. You may be familiar with this prayer – it’s known as the Lord’s Prayer. 

I find this prayer a wonderful template for my everyday, longer prayers. It can be taken and applied to each of our lives. 

Recognising who you’re praying to

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

I think it’s important to start prayers off by recognising and submitting to the God that you are praying to. It’s also just respectful to speak to someone in a way where you recognise their importance in your life (similar to speaking to your grandmother, for example).

What’s more, God has many attributes that can speak into different areas of our lives and remembering these can be helpful to shape the rest of your prayer. For example…

If I’m feeling scared I may start a prayer off with, “Lord, I know that you are my refuge and fortress”.

When I am thankful I might begin with, “God you are the great Provider and Creator of this world”. 

Or when anxious, I may remember God’s character in saying, “Lord you are King of Kings and ruler of this world, I recognise that my times are in your hands and I can trust you.”

“…Your kingdom come, Your will be done…” is also a helpful reminder to have as you enter into prayer, especially if you’re asking for things. 

Just because we’re asking God for something, it doesn’t mean He has to grant it. Sometimes what we ask for may not be in our best interest.

This can be discouraging, but we can trust God’s judgement in this – just as we would trust our parents’ judgement when growing up. Plus, trusting God in the unknown is part of growing in faith. 

Daily provisions

“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) 

This short verse holds a lot of meaning and it can be viewed in two different ways:

a. Recognition of provision

When praying this section, I stop to be thankful for all that God has provided for me. Whether that’s the basics of food, water, shelter, or the blessings of luxuries in my life. 

b. A need for Jesus and His wisdom 

In John 6:35, Jesus declared: 

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

When Jesus says this, He is speaking in spiritual terms. Each day we need wisdom to overcome the challenges this life throws at us. He offers His presence to comfort and support us when we are feeling scared, and guidance for when we are feeling lost. 

And just to say, the best way to receive this “daily bread” is by reading the Bible daily – as this is where we can hear His wisdom, comfort and guidance. 

Forgiveness

“And forgive us our debts [sins], as we forgive our debtors [those who have sinned against us].” (Matthew 6:12)

Again, this verse is loaded with a lot of helpful things. First of all, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on where we have sinned (also known as upsetting God, or going against His will for us). 

It’s easy to brush past this and use a very generic statement, such as ‘forgive me for sinning’ or ‘I’m sorry for going against your will’. 

I find it helpful to stop and really reflect and be specific here. What have I done that day to upset God? Did I speak to someone unkindly? Did I gossip about others? Did I feel resentment towards a work colleague?  

And the second half of the verse reminds us that because we are forgiven, we too should forgive others. It also challenges us to think about where we may not have forgiven someone, and offers an opportunity to ask for help in doing this. 

Protection

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)

This is a great privilege of prayer. We all have things that we struggle with or are tempted by. Jesus taught us to ask for help in this. 

We are not perfect beings, and when we rely on ourselves to overcome our challenges, we’re probably going to fail. 

It also touches on the spiritual battle of life. There is an evil one who seeks to tempt us into turning away from God. He wants us to reject God and follow our weaknesses. But Jesus invites us to pray for protection against this. 

As we thought about last week, prayer is more than a ritual or a list of requests – it’s a living, intimate conversation with God.

No matter where you are in your journey with Him. Whether you’re approaching Him with simple prayers or engaging in deeper, more personal conversations, each moment spent in prayer brings you closer to understanding His heart. 

As we follow the example Jesus gave us in the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded to come to God with reverence, gratitude, and trust in His will for our lives. 

So, wherever you find yourself today – whether you’re struggling to find the right words or confidently pouring out your heart – know that God is listening. He desires a deeper relationship with you, and prayer is the key to growing in that relationship. 

Take a moment to reflect on your own prayer life. How might you grow in intimacy with God through more intentional, heartfelt conversations with Him? Start where you are, and trust that He is ready to meet you.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Prayer is a universal practice, deeply rooted in cultures and religions across the globe. But what does it truly mean to pray?

This month I’m going to do a focus on prayer. I’ll be looking at what Christian prayer is, different ways to pray, and examples of prayer in the Bible. 

But before we dive in, let me ask you: do you ever pray? Maybe you find yourself praying when you’re scared or in trouble. Or perhaps you’re a practicing Christian, and prayer is a regular part of your day.

Or maybe the only time you’ve ever prayed was during a school assembly or at a wedding or funeral.

It’s something that’s been in our lives one way or another. 

Now, let’s think a little bit about what prayer actually is. 

What is prayer?

If you Google “definition of prayer”, the following result comes up:

“a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity.” 

I think this definition is just the tip of the iceberg.

One thing that prayer definitely is not is a list of demands. I’ve known many people, some that would call themselves Christian, that seem to approach prayer as a list of requests from God. 

I would also argue that prayer is not a religious ritual. It may be something that’s often done in religious settings but I believe that true prayer comes from the heart. 

In a nutshell, prayer is an intimate conversation with God. It’s a central part of the relationship that we can have with Him. 

Viewing prayer through this lens helps us understand how to approach it. Each of us are at a different stage of relationship with God, and so this means that we might not all approach praying at the same level – something that will be explored in my next post on how to approach praying.

Now that we’ve considered what prayer is, let’s explore some of the benefits of prayer…

Why should I pray?

Mental health benefits

Something that’s always struck me is how much the secular world takes bits of praying and recommends it to help with mental health. 

Gratitude journals are a prime example of this. It is good for us to be grateful, to recognise the good in our life, this is an integral part of prayer too. But who are we being grateful to in gratitude journals? 

Prayer also provides opportunities to be still and reflective. We live in such a fast-paced world filled with distractions and noise. It is good for our souls, and mental health, to be still and reflect. 

I love that prayer gives us a direction for our inner most thoughts, and gives us someone to be thankful to.

Having a friend to take your troubles to

Life isn’t always easy. Sometimes things happen that are completely out of our control and there’s nothing we can do about it. Sometimes people hurt you and you don’t know what to say or do to make things better. 

To know that I can relinquish the control I try to have over my life to God, and trust that He wants to do good in a difficult situation brings me so much peace, and hope. 

This was particularly prevalent when Mum was unwell. So often it felt like everything was whirring out of control and I was scared during such uncertainty. Prayer, and my relationship with God, were an anchor during these times. 

On the flip side of the coin, sometimes there are things that I think or feel that I struggle to admit to other people. But I’m able to take these things to God through prayer. I’m able to seek forgiveness for these things and pray for help against them. 

The wonderful thing about God is that for how mighty and holy He is, He is also a friend who wants us to bring both the big and small things to Him through intimate conversation in prayer.

Relationship with your Creator

For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, let’s just say for arguments sake that there is a God, that you were created by a higher power that is bigger and better than anything you could ever imagine in this world. 

Now, imagine that awesome, mighty Creator wants to have a relationship with you. That He loves and cares for you, and wants to hear about your life – this can be done through prayer, what a gift!

For those that know God and follow Him, prayer is the avenue for you to get to know God even more. But more than that, if you love someone, you spend time with them. Prayer and reading the Bible are ways to spend time with God. 

If you had a relationship with a friend, and they barely spoke to you and only ever asked you for things when they did speak to you – you wouldn’t feel very loved by that friend would you? Well it’s exactly the same for your relationship with God. 

What can I pray for? 

One of my favourite Bible verses is Philippians 4:6: 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

In this verse it states that we can pray in every situation – how beautiful is that?! There’s nothing that we bring to God that He dismisses because He thinks it’s too small. 

There have been so many times that I’ve lost something and am searching around my living room looking for it, and just before I really start to get irate, I pray and ask God to help me find it. Within a couple of minutes it’s found – it’s astounding. 

This may seem like a silly example, but it’s times like that that I’m reminded that God really does hear my prayers, and He cares about all things. He is my heavenly Father that takes joy in me bringing these things to Him. 

But there are some other important bits to recognise in Philippians 4:6. We bring our petitions to God with thanksgiving. As I said earlier, a prayer is not a list of demands. 

Before we come to God with requests, it’s important to remember who He is in the situation, which helps us not to be anxious, and to recognise all the good He has already given you with thanksgiving. 

Praying through Jesus

Do you know why we can come to God whenever we want with the big and the small? Well, the clue is in the subheading – because of Jesus. 

Before Jesus, people had to follow specific rituals and sacrifices to connect with God. But because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now speak directly to God anytime, anywhere.

This is really important to remember when praying, and Jesus gave some direction on this too in John 16:23-24: 

“Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

As we’ve explored, prayer is more than just a ritual or a list of requests—it’s a profound, intimate conversation with God. Whether you’re seeking comfort in difficult times, expressing gratitude, or simply desiring to connect with your Creator, prayer offers a way to bring your deepest thoughts and emotions to someone who truly cares.

I encourage you to reflect on your own experiences with prayer. Whether you’re new to it or have been praying for years, there’s always an opportunity to grow deeper in your relationship with God. 

Take time this week to be still, to listen, and to speak to God from your heart. Perhaps consider setting aside a few minutes each day to pray or reflect. What do you want to share with God today? You might be surprised at the peace, guidance, and joy that can come from this simple yet powerful practice.

And as we continue this series on prayer, I hope you’ll join me in exploring new ways to connect with God through prayer, learning together how prayer can be a vibrant part of our daily lives.

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12