So, you’ve made a decision to start to pray, but you aren’t sure how to go about it.  Don’t feel bad, even the disciples were confused about how to pray!  Read the following from Luke Chapter 11, verses 1-2:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

He said to them, "When you pray, say….”

And he proceeded to teach the disciples the Lord’s Prayer.    Isn’t it comforting to know that even the disciples struggled with prayer?

10 Tips To get started with Prayer:

1)      Set aside time each day to pray…perhaps 10 or 15 minutes

2)      Find a quiet spot, where you won’t be interrupted

3)      Keep in mind that praying can be with words, or just spending time.

4)      When praying with words, don’t feel the need to talk “churchy” talk, like “yea” and “Thou” and such.  Just use your normal manner of speaking.

5)       Keep in mind that praying takes practice, so don’t get discouraged.

6)      Prayer is also listening, so consider reading the bible.  The Psalms are often a nice place to start for praying.  You can read it, and then think on it for a while.

7)      Don’t worry if you don’t feel anything or hear anything.  God is listening, and in time you will learn to recognize his voice!

8)      Don’t worry that you aren’t ‘praying correctly.’  Did you know that the Holy Spirit helps you pray?   From Romans, Chapter 8:  “… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”  Isn’t that awesome?

9)      If you feel uncomfortable praying in a certain way, consider alternative forms of prayer

10)   Consider following the format of prayer that Jesus taught us: