What is the proper way to Pray

1. What is the proper way to pray – 12th
March 2017
“Whenyouask, you do notreceive, because youask with wrong motives,that youmay spend what
you get on your pleasures.”(James4:3).
Prayeris a primaryrequirementforall Christians.Butdue tovariousfalse teachingsmanyChristiansstill
keepaskingapastor or a preacheras to how one shouldpray. Isit bestto pray standingup,sitting
down,kneeling,orbowingdown?Shouldourhandsbe open,closed,orlifteduptoGod?Do oureyes
needtobe closedwhenwe pray?Isit bettertopray ina church buildingoroutinnature?Shouldwe
pray inthe morningwhenwe getup or at nightbefore we goto bed?Are there certainwordswe need
to say inour prayers?Howdo we beginourprayers?What is the properwayto close a prayer?These
questions,andothers,are commonquestionsaskedaboutprayer.Whatisthe properway to pray?Do
any of the above thingsevenmatter?
The closestthe Bible comestogivinga “pattern”for prayeris foundinMatthew 6 where we findJesus
teachingaboutprayer.Firstunderstandingthatwe shouldhave isthatourprayersare betweenusand
God. Atthe time of Jesusaswell asnow,in some Churches,there are people wholike tobe observedby
othersas verydevoutChristians.Jesus’teachingisfoundin Matthew6: 5-6, “Andwhen you pray, do
not be like the hypocrites,for they loveto pray standinginthe synagoguesandon the street corners
to be seen by others. Truly I tell you,they have received their reward in full. 6
But when youpray, go
intoyour room, close the door andpray to your Father, who isunseen. Then your Father, who sees
what is donein secret, will reward you.”
One may inquire astowhy Jesus saidthis.If one isprayingto be seenbyothersas a devoutperson,
Jesusreferredtothemashypocrites.MerriamWebsterdictionarydefinesahypocrite asa personwho
putson a false appearance of virtue orreligion.Because,suchpeople actincontradictiontohisor her
statedbeliefsorfeelings…Therefore theirobjective insuchprayerisnot speakingtothe fatherthrough
theirprayer, buthave a differentmotive,whichissimplytobe NOTICED…andJesussaysthattheyhave
receivedtheirrewardin FULL…!As a follow uptothisteachingJesusalsoadvisesusaswe can read from
Matthew 6:7-8, “And when youpray, do not keep on babblinglikepagans,forthey think they will be
heard because oftheir manywords. 8
Do not be like them, foryour Father knows what youneed
before you ask him.”
The properway to pray isto expressourheartsto God.Sitting,standing,orkneeling;handsopenor
closed;eyesopenedorclosed;ina church,at home,oroutside;inthe morningorat night—these are all
side issues,subjecttopersonal preference,conviction,andappropriateness.God’sdesire isforprayerto
be a real and personal connectionbetweenHimandus.
Furtherto thisJesusteachesusas to how we shouldpray.He teachesus the Lord’s Prayeras found in
Matthew 6:9-13. A lotof Christianslearnthisasone of the veryfirstprayersone learnsandas such
practically all of us knowitby heart.But as Christianswe needtounderstand thatthe Lord’sPrayeris
not a prayersimplytobe memorizedbyusas a recitationtoGod. It isan example of the thingsthat
shouldgointoa prayer—worship,trustinGod,requests,confession,andsubmission. “This,then,ishow
you shouldpray:“‘OurFather in heaven, hallowedbe your name, 10
your kingdomcome,your will be
done, onearth asit is in heaven. 11
Giveustoday our dailybread.12
Andforgiveus our debts,as we
alsohave forgivenour debtors. 13
Andlead us notinto temptation,but deliverus from the evil one.”

2. We are to pray for the thingsthe Lord’sPrayer teachesus,usingourownwords and“customizing”itto
our ownjourneywithGod. For an example we sayin Matthew6:12, “Andforgiveus our debts, aswe
alsohave forgivenour debtors.” Why didJesusteachus to saythis?We can get an understandingwhen
we read Matthew 6: 14-15,“ For ifyou forgiveother peoplewhen they sin againstyou,your heavenly
Father will alsoforgive you. 15
But if youdo not forgiveothers their sins,yourFather will not forgive
your sins.” ThisisJesus’teaching!Therefore thisimportantprayerisNOTsimplyfor the purpose of
recital buta verymeaningfulprayerthatcontainsmanyelementsastohow we shouldpray.
Far too often, some Christiansconsiderprayerasa “magicformula.”Some othersbelieve thatif we do
not sayexactlythe rightthings,or prayin the rightposition,Godwill nothearand answerourprayer.
Thisis completelyunbiblical.Goddoesnotanswerourprayersbasedonwhenwe pray, where we are,
whatpositionourbodyisin, or inwhat orderwe wordour prayers. We can learnfrom 1 John5:14-15,
“Thisis the confidencewe have inapproachingGod:thatif we ask anythingaccordingto hiswill,he
hears us. 15
Andif we know that he hears us—whateverwe ask—weknow that we have what we
asked of him.”
Therefore insteadof allowingunbiblical prompting toaffectus,as Christianswe are tohave confidence
whenwe come to God inprayer,knowingHe hearsus and will grantwhateverwe ask…aslongas the
ultimate reasonforourrequestisin adherence toHiswill. Hiswill istoglorifyGod.Therefore we cannot
ask God to be a magicianand give us“whatever”we askfromHim. We can learnthisfrom John 14:13-
14, “AndI will do whatever you ask in my name,so that the Father may be glorifiedinthe Son. 14
You
may ask me for anythinginmy name, andI will doit.”
Is ittrue that God hasgivenusa blank cheque toask anythingof Himjustas one mightask a genie ina
fairytale?Some misunderstandthistobe the case,but I John5:14 qualifieswhatHe will grant: “Thisis
the confidencewe have inapproachingGod:that ifwe ask anythingaccordingtohis will,he hears us."
Real prayeris communionwithGod,andwhatis necessaryforcommunionare commonthoughts
betweenHismindandours. Forexample anew Holidayhome ora Mercedesalthoughmaybe foremost
inonesthoughts,itmay be NOT be His will unlesshe allowsit. Whatwe needisforHim to fill ourminds
and heartswithHisthoughts.ThenHisdesireswill becomeourdesiresflowingbacktoHimin the form
of prayer. James4:3 confirmsthis:"“Whenyouask, youdo not receive, becauseyou ask with wrong
motives,that you may spendwhat you get on your pleasures.”(James4:3).
One may inquire:ButdoesnotJesussayin I John5:14 “Youmay ask me for anythinginmy name, andI
will do it…” He most assuredlydoes,but we forgetthe importantelement.ToaskGod for anythingin
the name of JesusChrist, itmust be inkeepingwithwhatHe is.To ask inChrist'sname isto ask as
thoughChristHimself were asking.Therefore,we canonlyaskforwhat ChristHimself wouldask.Itis
therefore necessarytosetaside ourownwill andaccept God's…andthisunderstandingcomestous
throughour faithin Jesus.We can learnwhere Jesussaysin John8:29: “The one who sent me is with
me; he hasnot left me alone,for I alwaysdowhat pleases him.”
So,what isthe properwayto pray? We can readas saidby Paul inPhilippians4to pray withoutbeing
anxious,toprayabout everything,andtopray withthankful hearts. “Donot be anxiousaboutanything,
but in every situation,byprayer andpetition,with thanksgiving,presentyourrequests to God. 7
And
the peace ofGod,which transcendsall understanding,will guardyour hearts andyour mindsin Christ
Jesus.”(Philippians4:6-7).God will answerall suchprayerswiththe giftof Hispeace in our hearts.The

3. properwayto pray is to pourout our heartsto God, beinghonestandopenwithGod,asHe already
knowsusbetterthan we knowourselves.We are to presentourrequeststoGod,keepinginmindthat
God knowswhatis bestandwill notgrant a requestthatis notHis will forus.We are to expressour
love,gratitude,andworshiptoGodinprayer withoutworryingabouthavingjustthe rightwordstosay.
God ismore interestedinthe contentof ourheartsthan the eloquence of ourwords.