"But I don't know what to say..."
You can actually pray in any words that come naturally to you. It doesn't have to be flowery or grammatical or full of quotes from the Bible. Your Heavenly Father just wants to hear from you, whatever words you use.
However, we do realize that when you're starting out, it can help to give you confidence to use a form of words that you don't have to think out for yourself! And for some Christians, using well-written prayers will always be helpful, in addition to your own personal expressions. So here are some ideas just to start you off.
A framework for your daily prayer time Lord God, I come into your presence recognizing that you are the Lord of all life, the most powerful being in the cosmos. But I also believe that you love me and want to listen to me. So I ask you to hear my prayer right now... Father, I want to start by saying thank you all that you have given me: my life here on earth, the other people I love, the beauty of your creation, the good things I enjoy daily... Lord, I confess to you that I often fall short of what you want me to be. I would like to ask your forgiveness for the ways I have fallen short and the temptations I so often fall into... You have asked me to bring my needs to you, and I have some things I would like to ask you for... I don't want just to pray for myself, but for others who are in need in different ways, and for the world I live in... As I look back over the time since I last prayed like this, I can see the ways in which you have blessed me and answered my prayers, and I want to say thank you... So, Father, as I go on into new challenges and tricky decisions, I ask you to give me everything I need - the patience, the grace, the stamina, and the wisdom to face up to everything that life is going to bring to me today. I ask the same for those I love. May I be conscious of your presence with me, your encouragement and your strengthening. And I ask all of these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ your Son. Amen. |
| The way Jesus taught people to pray The Lord's Prayer was what Jesus taught his first close followers, when they asked him how they should pray. It's still a great model of what we should be praying about, and how we can structure it. You can read it here.Quite short, isn't it? But it covers quite a range of concerns, and it's worth taking very slowly indeed. "Thy Kingdom Come", the prayer movement begun by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2016, has a web page showing how you could pray for a whole hour with this short prayer as a basis! |
The Psalms
The Psalms of the Old Testament are a collection of songs that can be used to pray with. Their words can be our words to God. There are 150 of them, so there's a Psalm for most situations! Here are just a few highlights:
Psalm 23 - when you're thankful for God's guidance and protection
Psalm 42 - when God seems far away
Psalm 51 - when you know you've messed up
Psalm 103 - when you need to get excited about all that God does for you
Psalm 139 - when you want to remember how small you are and how great he is
Other written prayers you could use
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Where would you like to go next?
- You could go back to the questions and learn more about prayer
- You could learn how to get better at prayer
- You could get somebody to start praying with you. That can be really helpful. Just contact us if you'd like somebody to do that with you.
- You could go back to the "Exploring..." page and try a different direction.