prayer

Christianity in a Nutshell

The Easy Way To Pray

The Lord said,"I was ready to answer
my people's prayers, but they did not
pray." Isaiah 65,1


What is prayer?
  • Praying is talking to God in the way you'd talk to a loving father. You'd show a little respect, but it would be informal. You'd know He was listening and that He loves you. As well as being your Father in heaven, He's also your friend.

    • Because God is our Father in heaven, that makes us His children.

    • As we're all God's children, all the people of the world are our brothers and sisters in Creation and we should treat each other that way. If your brother or sister was in desperate need, would you ignore them, or would you do your best to help them?

  • You can share your innermost thoughts with God.

  • You can ask Him to help you with life's problems, you can ask Him to show you the way if you're feeling lost and, if you want, you can thank Him whenever your prayers are answered.

  • You can pray in church, or anywhere else you like. I do both.

  • Some people like to kneel, or put their hands together when they pray, but you don't have to. God is much more interested in what you want to say to Him than any posing you choose to do.

  • If you're happy, sad, frightened, excited, or relieved, remember that God is only a prayer away.

  • Random forces, or the actions of evil people, can bring pain and trouble into our lives, but God is always on hand 24/7, ready to help if we choose to ask Him. You don't have to be a deeply religious person to pray "Father, I've got a problem, it's getting worse and I don't know what to do. Please help me. Amen."

    God is brilliant at lateral thinking. He can see beyond the immediate problem and He can set in motion events that will, in due course, answer our prayer. He sometimes gives us something better than we originally asked for. Like all fathers, God likes a word of thanks for His efforts, especially if the outcome took some time to set up.

What is worship?
  • Worship is saying thank you to God and telling Him how much you value Him.

  • Just as friendship is the state of being a friend, then worship, which was originally worth-ship, is the state of being worth something, or of value. When you worship someone you're thanking them for their value in your life. It's not about some almighty being demanding that his lowly subjects heap empty praise on him !! He loves us and wants to see the best in us. He is slow to criticise and quick to forgive, if we ask Him.

  • We might want to say thank you for something that's happened in our life, or for blessings we've been given, or for an answered prayer. What we say then is worship.

  • Some Christians like to be quite enthusiastic in their worship. If it takes place in a big church or a cathedral it can be quite involved. I'm someone who prefers their worship to be low-key.

  • Worship can mean different things in different places. In a cathedral it might involve a choir and hymn books. For me it usually means going into a room on my own, or going for a walk, and telling God how much I appreciate the good things He's done for me.

  • Worship, like love, isn't a duty or a chore. Worship should be heartfelt and sincere.

What you don't have to do
  • Don't think of God as being high and mighty, aloof and remote. You don't think of your natural father that way, I hope!

  • You don't have to worship God every time you want to talk to Him in prayer. Only worship Him when you feel really grateful to Him for something. Many years ago, at a time when I was feeling lonely, I prayed to God that He would bring a girlfriend into my life. A week later I met a lovely young woman and we became instant friends, the friendship turned to love and now she's my wife. I've said thank you to God on many occasions for answering that prayer.

  • Ok, so God is in heaven, but heaven is closer than you may think.

    [Jesus said] "The kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among
    you [surrounding you]."
    Matthew 7,12 Amplified Bible





    Imagine we humans are like fish in an aquarium and heaven is the world beyond
    our fish tank.

    1st fish to 2nd fish "Any talk of another
    world surrounding us is just a delusion!"

A neat way of praying


Many years ago a lady called Patsy suggested to me a way of praying that was simple, but included the main points. She said that a daily prayer, whispered or spoken quietly when you're on your own, could have the following 4 components:

  1. Thanking God for good things that have happened T

  2. Saying sorry to God for anything on our conscience C

  3. Praising God for the blessings we tend to take for granted P

  4. Asking for His help with anything (unless it's something we think He wouldn't approve of!) A


After looking at the letters T C P A I rearranged them as P A T - C because that spelt Patsy, the lady's name, which was easier to remember. Since then, when I find time to pray, I do it in the sequence
  1. Praising

  2. Asking

  3. Thanking

  4. Confessing

It goes without saying that prayers should not be just about ourselves, but about other people too.

3 minutes of prayer at some point in a 1,440 minute day is 0.2%. For me that's not too much when I recall that Jesus spent 360 minutes (6 hours) on the first Good Friday nailed to the Cross on my behalf, voluntarily taking my punishment for my sins. That was so that when it's my time to enter heaven, I'll go in sinless.

I've recently found that it can be very nice to share a joint prayer with a close friend if they are like-minded. I don't know if God gets many prayers from two people at the same time.



What if nothing seems to happen?

There are six main ways a prayer might be answered:
  1. Yes     (the default answer)

  2. Soon     (what you've asked for will take time to arrange)

  3. Not yet     (be patient - it's not quite the right time in your life)

  4. Immediately     (if you're in danger)

  5. No, because He's got something better planned for you     (God sees the bigger picture)

  6. No     (what you're asking for would hurt someone, or hurt you)




Click on the pictures to explore further


Near Death Experiences

The Personality of God


Back