Episode 4: How Do I Really Pray?

There are more books written on prayer than any other topic in Christianity. You’d think we’d understand the concept...yet, it’s hard to admit we’re often confused about prayer. Why?

Three of the biggest challenges are:

• ADD Prayer: We begin praying and our mind wanders everywhere. Can’t focus or finish a thought (or start thinking of our grocery list!)

• Prideful Prayer: Like the Pharisee in Luke 18 we are praying to ourselves rather than God. Restating all the good things we do and the ways God should be thrilled with us.

• MeanIngless Repetition:  Jesus tells us not to pray mindlessly, or repeating the same words that have little or no meaning to us. It’s a conversation, and we’d never rattle off meaningless statements, repeatedly, if we were speaking to someone we love. (Matthew 6:7-8)

So...how do we pray? Jesus offers a powerful model when He says to “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened.” If asking starts us--seeking confuses us--and knocking just plain irritates us. Why not a quick and simple formula we can follow?

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