A Beginner’s Guide To Prayer

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. – James 5:16

After working and/or serving in ministry for the last several years, there’s one particular topic that so many people seem to struggle with in their walk with God, and that is prayer.

Some people have trouble knowing how to pray or what to say. Some feel insecure about praying out loud. Some people struggle with only praying when they need something from God, rather than having a consistent, open dialogue with Him. And others are hesitant to pray because they aren’t sure if it will really make a difference or if God is even listening.

I know I can’t address every single question and struggle surrounding prayer in one devotion. I wish I could, but that’s just not possible. So for today, I wanted to try to help the people who struggle with knowing how to pray.

It can seem so easy when we tell people (especially new Christians) that they can just talk to God like they talk to a close friend. And to someone who has been praying for a long time, it really might seem that simple. But to someone who is new to the faith or who is just getting into the practice of praying, it can feel really intimidating and even scary when it comes time to talk to God.

So if you’re reading this and you’re not quite sure how to pray, I hope this little four-step guide will help you get started. And if you’re reading this and you know someone who is new to following Jesus or someone who just isn’t sure how to pray, I hope you’ll send this devotion to them so that it will help and encourage them in their prayer life.

So, with that being said, I want to give you a four-step guide to prayer, in hopes of making prayer seem a little more approachable and a little less intimidating.

1. Thank God

Starting with gratitude is always a great idea when you’re praying. So when you first start to pray, thank God for something. It can be anything. You can thank Him for the fact that you’re breathing and alive today. You can thank Him for your family, your friends, your job, your church, your dog, whatever. Just thank Him for something and show Him gratitude for what He’s blessed you with.

2. Confess sin.

There is so much power and freedom that we experience when we confess our sins to God. We don’t have to hide anything from Him. After all, He already knows everything. So if there’s sin that you need to confess and apologize for, share that with Jesus as you talk to Him and ask Him to forgive you. The good news is, there’s no sin you can commit that He can’t forgive and that will disqualify you from being loved by Him.

3. Pray for someone else.

It can be really easy to view prayer as a means of talking to God about our own lives, our own questions, and our own problems. And while those things are definitely important to God and He wants you to share those things with Him, there’s also something really special and humbling about praying for other people. So as you pray, spend some time talking to God about someone else. Pray for the people in your life who don’t know Jesus to be saved. Pray for someone who is going through a hard time. Pray for someone who needs healing. Regardless of who or what it is, I’d encourage you to be intentional about not just praying for yourself, but praying for the people God has put in your life as well.

4. Pray for yourself.

Like I said before, God wants to hear about what’s on your mind. He wants you to talk to Him about anything and everything. So if you’re worried about something, struggling with something, feeling discouraged about something, or even feeling excited about something, tell Jesus about it! Bring your requests and your burdens to Him. I promise He will hear you. He will carry your burdens so you don’t have to do it alone. And He will walk with you and guide you through whatever you’re facing today.

So whether you’re new to prayer or you’re in a bit of a slump in your prayer life, I hope that you’ll begin to implement these four steps as you talk to Jesus. Prayer is never as intimidating or as scary as it seems. It really is just talking to your Heavenly Father. So don’t let your fears, doubts, or insecurities stop you from spending time in prayer. I promise if you choose to push past them and dive into prayer, you’ll never regret it.