We can learn to do better in almost everything; prayer is no exception. But what is prayer? It is the simple but fantastic act of reaching out to God with a humble spirit. This is excellent news because prayer is unlike many other human activities in that you can instantly do it successfully. Every prayer is successful because God hears all prayers.

BUT... you have to do it. Talking or thinking about prayer is not praying. The only terrible prayers are the ones that are never spoken. That is not to say there is no room for improvement in how we pray.

Jesus taught prayer to His disciples and talked about it frequently during His earthly ministry, which tells us that we can learn to do it better. We encourage you to reach out to God in prayer right now. Ask Him to teach you to pray, like the disciples asked Jesus in Luke 11:1-4. 

Remember that prayer is not a performance, a negotiation, a competition, or an exercise in flattery to ingratiate ourselves to a deity. It is futile to put on any pretense, hoping that God will not see past our words into the real motivations of our hearts. Let us not think that if we pray right (or better), we can twist God’s arm to get what we want.  Also,  it is not a magical incantation; in fact, Jesus had some very pointed words to say about that in Matthew 6:7. Likewise, the length of prayers does not impress God, as Jesus points out in Mark 12:40.

What is more important is your attitude as you pray. The most important thing is to drop any pretense and to be honest. If we are truthful, that can be hard for us to do, but it is what we need to do.

Consider these example prayers:

“God, I don’t know what to pray or how to pray. Please help me”.

“God, I don’t feel anything when I pray, am I meant to? Are you really there?”

“God, I don’t want to pray. I’m angry and frustrated.”

“God, I always forget to pray. I’m sorry, but it is not always the first or even the second thing that comes to mind during my day.”

“God, there are so many things going on in my head right now, and I can’t even hear myself think!”

“God, I am so tired. I want to go take a nap.”

Take encouragement from King David’s prayer in Ps 51:17. This is his prayer after being confronted with his adultery with Bathsheba and the arranged murder of her husband. He brings his brokenness and humility to God, not fine words or impressive accomplishments.

Take heart and use this as a starting point in your prayer life. This humility is the position from which God can lift us up as we read in James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6, and Luke 14:11