Category Archives: How to Pray

We all need help how to connect with God in prayer.

Prayer is Talking and Connecting with God – God is Real

God is real. God exists and listens, we just need to talk to Him. Prayer does not need to be formal or done in some special place.

Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Prayer is just talking and connecting to God in reality. Prayer is not phony, and we don’t need to make things up. When praying to God, just start saying what is on your heart as you think about God. Prayer is a dialog between us and God. We can pray alone or with others. We can pray when we love God, and when we hate God. If we are hurting because of something that happened, we need to be open and honest and tell God the truth.

Christina Lake at Sunset, B.C., Canada

Prayer can be an expression of what we feel when we are very encouraged, or an expression of how we feel when we are very depressed and low. We can pray when we think we are a perfect saint (but only God is perfect), or we can pray when we recognize we are sinners (and we all are sinners). We can pray when we are happy and we can pray when we are sad. After praying, we may feel high, or we may feel low, but God is faithful to hear our prayer, and never changes.

Sailboat on Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Jesus said in John 15:7, If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you.

The Spirit makes it easy to pray, because He knows how and what to pray. Without the Spirit, prayer is hard. With the Spirit, prayer is easy. Romans 8:26, And in like manner the Spirit joins also its help to our weakness; for we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting, but the Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Dock on Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Look at the prayers of David in the Psalms. David just talked to God and told Him what he thought and how he felt. When David was low, he said, “God, I am depressed”, but eventually he learned to praise God even in the dark places. When David was feeling great, He praised God. Psalms 8:2, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou established praise because of Thine adversaries, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Christina Lake, B.C., Canada

Also consider some of the points in the article on “What is Prayer”

Pray and Seek the Kingdom – from John Calvin

The Bible verse is Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow:….

Pray and Seek the Kingdom – California Beach

John Calvin talks about “restraining excessive anxiety”. Of course, excessive anxiety can arise in many areas of life such as money, time, relationships, work or societal issues.

John Calvin says: But rather seek first the kingdom of God. This is another argument for restraining excessive anxiety about food. It argues a gross and indolent neglect of the soul, and of the heavenly life. Christ reminds us that there is the greatest inconsistency in men, who are born to a better life, being wholly employed about earthly objects. He who assigns the first rank to the kingdom of God, will not carry beyond moderation his anxiety about life. Nothing is better adapted to restrain the wantonness of the flesh from breaking out in the course of the present life, than meditation on the life of the heavens. The word righteousness may be either understood as applying to God, or to the kingdom: for we know that the kingdom of God consists in righteousness, ( Romans 14:17 ,) that is, in the newness of spiritual life. All other things shall be added. This means, that those things which relate to the present life are but favorable appendages, and ought to be reckoned greatly inferior to the kingdom of God. – from the John Calvin Commentary.

Remember God’s Promises

Remember God’s Promises – Two trees, lake and mountains in Idaho

The Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Unfortunately God’s people at that time were not happy with God or themselves. They had no faith in God that He could deliver them. So they doubted God, and only had “evil” thoughts about God, His plan and His purpose.

God still remembers His plan, purpose and promises towards the nation of Israel. God’s plan had not changed, but their thoughts about God did. So let’s remember God’s promises.

Look at God’s promise in this Bible verse in Deuteronomy 30:1 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.

Thy Kingdom Come – from John Calvin

Beautiful scenery – The Lord’s Prayer – Thy Kingdom Come

This is a great prayer quote from John Calvin on the phrase “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer is required to bring in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is God’s rule over an area or situation. Don’t forget God owns the earth and the universe. God created the earth to declare His glory.

There is still another way in which God reigns; and that is, when he overthrows his enemies, and compels them, with Satan their head, to yield a reluctant subjection to his authority, “till they all be made his footstools” ( Hebrews 10:13 .) The substance of this prayer is, that God would enlighten the world by the light of his Word, — would form the hearts of men, by the influences of his Spirit, to obey his justice, and would restore to order, by the gracious exercise of his power, all the disorder that exists in the world. Now, he commences his reign by subduing the desires of our flesh. Again, as the kingdom of God is continually growing and advancing to the end of the world, we must pray every day that it may come: for to whatever extent iniquity abounds in the world, to such an extent the kingdom of God, which brings along with it perfect righteousness, is not yet come. – from the John Calvin Commentary.

Recognizing the Sovereign Lord

God created and owns the earth. We need to acknowledge this fact in the universe.

Recognizing the Sovereign Lord – a river in Washington

After all man’s attempts to ignore God, and replace God with other things, God takes full control and restores the earth back to the owner, who is God. This is the story of the book of Revelation. Sometimes when man forgets God or ignores God, bad things happen. There are many examples of this in the Old Testament. But eventually God gets all the glory.

Eventually there will be the New Jerusalem, with God fully in control. Again this is talked about much in the last book of the Bible, the conclusion of the whole Bible, the book of Revelation. Revelation 11:15 … The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

Maybe one of the best Bible verses on God’s sovereignty is Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year of the death of king Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above him…. 3 And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

Pray with the Sovereign Lord

Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me …

Pray with the Sovereign Lord – a California sunset

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

What does it mean to fear the Lord, it means to recognize Him as the sovergn God who rules over all things. He created the universe out of nothing, He designed DNA and everything about us. He decided when we will be born into this world, and He decides the day we leave. He decides a lot of things we cannot even touch. He holds the calendar with the dates of our birth and death, who are parents will be, what city we are born, and what century.

God owns the universe and spoke it into being. What ever He says is significant, so we should listen. God has the ability to do anything He wants to and no one can stop Him.

God is real, He exists, He is alive. God works and God acts.

This Bible verse is from proverbs, which is about wisdom. Actually in this book of the Bible wisdom is personified. And then in the New Testament we learn that Christ is the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption?

Daniel 5:21 … the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. So pray with the sovereign Lord.

Prayer is Connecting with God

Prayer is connecting with God in reality.

Prayer is connecting with God – a river in Oregon

But prayer is hard without the Spirit. In John 4, Jesus says “God is Spirit and they that worship (pray) Him,must worship (pray) in spirit and in reality“. So we need to pray with the spirit, our human spirit, to contact God in reality. God created man with Body, soul and spirit. Notice the ‘s’ on spirit/Spirit. Upper case ‘Spirit’ refers to the Spirit of God, since He is Spirit. Lower case ‘spirit’ refers to our human spirit. God gave us a spirit to contact God who is Spirit. Prayer in reality comes when we contact God in spirit.

Prayer is simple. Prayer is just talking to God. Nothing formal is necessary.

God exists and listens, we just need to talk to Him. Prayer does not need to be formal or in some special place. Prayer is just talking to God in reality. So we don’t need make-up something, just start saying what is on your heart as you talk to God. Prayer is just a dialog between us and God. Prayer can be alone for with others. Prayer can be when we love God and when we hate God. Sometimes we are hurting because of something that happened, so tell that to God. Prayer can be what we feel when we are very encouraged and when we are very depressed and low. Prayer can be when we think we are perfect (only God is perfect), and when we are a sinner (and we all are sinners) and when we feel we are a saint. Prayer can be when we are happy and when we are sad. Sometimes after we pray we feel high and sometimes low.

The Spirit makes it easy, because He knows how and what to pray. Without the Spirit, prayer is hard. With the Spirit prayer us easy. Romans 8:26 And in like manner the Spirit joins also its help to our weakness; for we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting, but the Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Look at the prayers of David in the Psalms where David just talks to God. David tells God just what he thinks and how he feels. When David is low, he says “God, I am depressed”.

When David was feeling great, He praises God. Sometimes when he is low is also praises God. Psalms 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established praise because of thine adversaries, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Also consider some of the points in the article on “Prayer is Talking to God”

Trust in the Lord

Trust in the Lord – lake in Montana

We trust in many things like food, our house, our job, our bank account, hard work, our family or society. When things do not work we sometimes drop all else and trust the Lord! But only because we have come to our end, at least we think our end. So now to try to trust the Lord everyday is a stretch for many of us. Our understanding of life and events is somewhat limited, so that’s why the verse says to not rely too much on our thinking or understanding. God knows better than us, even though we like to think we understand everything.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

Look at the story of Joseph in the Bible. Joseph had a vision to be a governor in Egypt, yet God let him through all kinds of very difficult trials. If Joseph had not been Egypt’s prisoner, he could have never been Egypt’s governor.

Every difficulty we pass through prepares us for our future work for God. So right in the middle (but this is hard to do), we need to trust in the Lord.

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