How should I pray?

Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. He gave them a model prayer, recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11, consisting of five points:

Submit humbly to Almighty God

Ask God to align us with his will

Ask God to supply our daily needs

Ask God to forgive us, and we forgive others

Ask God for spiritual guidance and protection

Prayer is for adjusting us to God’s purposes, not for us telling God how to bless our endeavors and fulfill our desires. We don’t give God directions; we ask for his guidance and strength.

Jesus said further that we should pray with sincere faith, without public piety or vain repetitions, and listen as well as petition. He also said to pray for others and think of ways we can help them. He said to pray often, formally or informally, word-by-word with articulated language or thought-by-thought in spiritual harmony, alone and with others. Even if we have already been saved from the penalty of sin, we need to confess known sins and truly desire to cooperate

with God in not repeating them. Confession and repentance cleans the contamination of sin from our lives and relationships.