What is the point of prayer? Prayer is conversation with a being that we cannot observe with our physical senses. It is our approach to the divine. But there is only one being with whom we should pray to: our Creator.
Prayer is about a personal relationship with God. Can you know someone if you never communicate with them? You can know about them, but you will never have a close, personal relationship with them unless you talk to them. —John 15:16; Psalms 34:8
WHY PRAY IF GOD DOES WHAT HE WANTS?
God has his will to be carried out, and we may ask him for things according to his will. Conversely, one should never pray for God to change his plan, because it won't happen. God's plan does not involve every move that every human takes. His plan involves only those things that affect the end result of his plan. As long as a prayer is not against his will, then he will fulfill it in the best possible way. His will does not guide every slightest action in the universe. He has put the universe into motion and it follows his plan, but he gave living things free will. As long as their free will does not contradict his plan, he will grant the requests of those asking him.
For instance, if you have a plan set out, and you don't want people interfering with its operation, does this mean you cannot fill their requests? Of course you can. If a man is constructing a building, and his wife calls and asks him to stop by the drug store on his way home, is he not going to do it just because it has nothing to do with his construction project? Clearly they are not mutually exclusive.
HOW TO PRAY
Having trouble connecting to God is not always your fault, beyond not knowing what you need to do. Our prayers may be rote or feel rote and this is a hindrance to a relationship with God. (Matthew 6:7-8) The key is to know that God is real and to open up to him as if he is sitting in front of you. (John 4:22) He wants you to open up to him. It is not disrespectful to think that he is right there with you, listening to your very human concerns. (Proverbs 15:29) He loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you.
To do this, prepare your heart to speak with him, noting what things you have concerns about, and then in prayer, just start talking about anything that concerns you. Did you say something to someone earlier that you did not mean? Talk about it with him. Is there something pending that you are concerned about? Express your anxiety to him. The Scriptures says: "Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, And he himself will sustain you." (Psalm 55:22) We may even need to pray to God to help us to have a repentant heart or insight into what we may need to change. —Psalm 26:2
Many people believe they have to close their eyes and bow their head to pray, but this is an unnecessary imposition. When Jesus described this posture in the humble man vs. the Pharisee, he was making the point of the man's humble heart, not his posture. (Luke 18:9-14) We can pray with our eyes open. We can pray out loud, or in our hearts (though know that Jehovah wants to hear our expressions with our lips as often as we can; Hebrews 13:5), and we can pray while we are driving or working, so long as we don't get so focused in the prayer that we lose focus on what we are doing.
Now it could be that there is something that you are not doing properly in your prayer, so examine the following things. Make sure you are praying the way Jesus taught:
Jesus tells us to pray, not to him, not to some other divine figure, but to God, the Father, alone. —Matthew 6:9
The first things listed to pray for in the prayer he instructed us to pray was for "the sanctification of [God's] name." Jesus said to his Father: "I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world." So what is the name of the personage you are to pray to? Psalm 83:18 says: "That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, [Heb., "YHWH"] You alone are the Most High over all the earth." Why does God's name need "sanctifying" or "cleansing"? Satan has launched lies against God from the very beginning. —Genesis 3:1-3
Now when we pray, we are to pray in Jesus' name (not to Jesus, but through Jesus). (John 16:23-24) You can simply say: "In Jesus name I pray". As is said: "Let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have gained our approach by faith into this undeserved kindness in which we now stand." When you do this, Jesus himself will carry it out. —John 14:13-14
Jesus also told us to pray for God's kingdom to come. (Matthew 6:10) This means the vindication of God's sovereignty. Satan directly challenged God's authority. (Job 1:8-11) As a result of his actions in the garden of Eden, Satan is now the ruler of the world. (Matthew 4:8-9; John 12:31; Ephesians 2:1-2) By asking for God's kingdom to come, we are thus seeking the vindication of his sovereignty over mankind. —Revelation 11:15
And for whatever you ask, make sure it is not contrary to God's will. (1 John 5:14-15) He doesn't grant us sports cars, but instead grants us what is necessary to accomplish his will. (Matthew 6:10) What is God's will? "This is fine and acceptable in the sight of our Savior, God, whose will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-4) Read Matthew 28:19 and then find out how that is supposed to happen at Luke 10:1-22. —Compare Matthew 24:14 and Romans 10:14-15
Praise God and be thankful for all he has given to you. (Psalm 106:1; Matthew 6:11) For God is the one who "furnishes us all things richly for our enjoyment." —1 Timothy 6:17-19
Jesus told us to pray to God to "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6:12) We are indebted to all men and to God for our sins. —Romans 1:14
Most importantly, as indicated above, seek truth. It is a part of our salvation. The word says: "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ." So accurate knowledge is what he wants us to learn. So don't just accept the word of men. Investigate the way as the Boreans did. —Acts 17:10-11
Be specific in your prayer. If you are asking for knowledge, which things are you wanting knowledge in? If you want help dealing with a problem, what problem do you need help with and what specific kind of help do you need? If you don't know what you need to pray for or how to ask it, ask God to read your heart as you can't put it into words. —Romans 8:27
Follow through with your prayer. Unless there is nothing that you can actually do, such as when praying for someone else in another country, don't just "let go and let God". Yes, we need to let go of our anxiety and let God do whatever he is going to do, but we must demonstrate our faith in him by giving our actions an opportunity to demonstrate God's operation in the fulfillment of our prayers. If you are seeking knowledge of a Scripture consult resources and compare different ideas, (Daniel 12:4) or if needing a particular outcome in something, attempt to make it happen by giving an earnest effort. The truth will shine through. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
Finally, after your prayer is complete, you can know that Jehovah has heard your prayer, and if it is acceptable to him, you will know that your prayer will receive a response, sometimes even before you are done praying. It is just as the apostle John wrote: "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us. Further, if we know he hears us respecting whatever we are asking, we know we are to have the things asked since we have asked them of him." —1 John 5:14-15
HOW TO PRAY MORE
Remembering to pray is not easy. As the Bible shows, it is all too easy to forget God because he is not in our sight. For that reason, we have to make special efforts to remember to pray. Here are a few ways to prompt yourself to pray more.
- Set your wristwatch or alarm clock to go off at certain times in the day. Set it about 3 to 6 times a day. Pray every time you turn off the alarm. The prophet Daniel had his habit of praying toward the temple three regular times a day. —Daniel 6:10
- You can also use the rubber band on your wrist. When you feel anxiety, just pull and release the rubber band. When you do this, it is a physical reminder to pray.
- You can also scream out to Jehovah in your mind (not out loud, but in your mind) a good long scream each time you feel anxiety or temptation, putting all your stress and strength into it, this can help you reset your nerves and is a reminder to pray, and having received some relief will give you the desire to do so and praise God. —Psalm 18:6
- Make it a habit to pray every morning when you wake up and every night before you read yourself to sleep (or before whatever habit you may have for helping you sleep), and before you go anywhere away from your house.
HOW TO WORRY LESS
Atheists often claim that prayer is a cop-out to facing one's problems. But they do not understand that there is a difference between a "problem" and "anxiety". Nor do they understand how prayer is the right solution to anxiety. This life is fraught with anxieties that cannot be simply "solved" by making a decision. For instance, it is midnight, you are laying in your bed trying to get to sleep, but you are anxious over something that is expected of you the next day. You tell yourself to stop worrying, but no matter what you do, it keeps coming back to you. For an atheist there is no solution but a sleeping pill. For someone with faith in God, there is prayer.
Once a person has talked out their anxiety with God and then praise him, they can have peace. It is better than sleeping pills that eventually stop working. It is better to be dependent upon God than on a pill. Though that is not to say a pill is never needed for anything. Medicines have done much to relieve suffering in many ways. But God alone is the source of peace within ourselves.
What if you have chronic anxiety? Tears and constant prayer can help one to cope. Those who do not suffer chronic anxiety often have trouble understanding the condition, and as a result they can be very denigrating and hurtful in their reactions, compounding the situation. But crying out to God in prayer can bring relief to such one when they know that God loves them and understands their problem and that it is not their fault. He listens patiently and he does not judge them for what they cannot control.
However, prayer does not mean that the person does not need professional help. Prayer is the primary coping mechanism, but a professional can apply very specific help. Asking God to help a professional help you may improve the situation for such a person, if not just in inspiration to the professional, then at least in a healthier outlook towards those trying to help you, which itself is a primary treatment. You have to be willing to help yourself in order for a professional to help you. Prayer helps you have that humble frame of mind.
The Scriptures say: "But in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your all's petitions be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6) The Scripture is not telling us that we are not allowed to feel anxiety, but is as one comforting us, saying 'please, do not be anxious, but take heart.' We need to practice praying at every opportunity, but especially when we are feeling anxious, and by praising God in our prayer, we can have peace. The psalm says: "Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, And he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter." —Psalm 55:22
You are of value to Jehovah, and he wants you to have peace (as much as can be had in Satan's world; Matthew 4:8-9; 2 Corinthians 4:4). The Son of God also loves you and knows your anxieties. By turning to God in prayer, "the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your all's hearts and your all's mental powers by means of Christ Jesus." —Philippians 4:7
If you do these things, God will reward you by granting you comfort. —2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
So no matter what you pray for, keep these principles in mind: 1) Prepare your heart, 2) pray to Jehovah through Jesus Christ, 3) praising them with thanks, 4) praying for God's will to be done, 5) make your own personal request without greed, 6) be specific, 7) act in harmony with your prayer, and 8) have a waiting attitude. If you do these things, you will see good from the person of Jehovah God.
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