Before our barbecue today, we spent some time discussing prayer, looking especially at the Lord’s prayer (Luke 11:1-4). Prayer is not something we are used to before we become Christians and is something that has to be learned. We need to learn to pray on our own and with others; prayer can be audible or inaudible (many people find praying out loud quite intimidating.) There are different aspects of prayer (confession, praise, thanksgiving, listening, asking and making requests) and no ‘right’ way to pray. All of us will learn to pray in our own way.
There are, though, things that hinder prayer and can distract us from prayer (including mobile phones which often also re-wire our brains to expect constant stimulation.) It’s always good to start with God as our focus in prayer since this focuses our minds on Him. Prayer involves trust and faith, asking God to supply all our needs, and will always involve our need for forgiveness.
The good news is that God prays with us and through us (see Rom 8:26-27) and helps us to pray. We can pray for ourselves, our family and friends, our church, our locality, our nation and the world. Instead of just complaining about situations, we should pray!
