Teach us to Pray How NOT to Pray

Teach us to Pray

How NOT to Pray

                               There are different ways to pray and there are

significant ways and times not to pray: 1) 1) praying even those there are broken relationships:   Jesus taught his disciples that if someone has unresolved conflict while they are on the way to engage in spiritual practices, that person should first stop and resolve the conflict before proceeding. Not everyone will respond to reconciliation but to initiate restoration is a good way to prepare to pray.

2) praying to get human praise: Jesus also had little tolerance for those who prayed, fasted and gave money so that everyone would see their good works. But prayer should focus on the goodness of God not on how great we are. People who pray to improve their standing in the court of public opinion receive nothing more from God, having already been paid in full in the form of human applause.

3) praying with too many words, or repeating words meaninglessly  Jesus also criticized those who pray long prayers in public and engage in meaningless repetition. Short prayers in public- long prayers in private. Think about what you are saying as you pray.  A good resource for prayers when you are not sure what to pray is praying the Psalms- as these are prayers written by people who have experienced similar things to you:  Psalm 150—if overwhelmed by God’s greatness-  ways to praise; Psalm 23- assurance;  Psalm 2 angry about injustice; Psalm 51  confession of sin\

4) Pray for others-focus on the spiritual needs of others.

REFLECTION
Reflect for a moment about how you have prayed in the past. Have you prayed with a broken relationship on your heart? Have you prayed because the attention would be on you? What about repeating same phrases and statements just to be heard by other people? How much of your prayer time is about the needs of others? Do you really thank God?

What do you think of the suggestion ”short prayers in public, long prayers in private”? Do you practise prayer this way?

PRAYER God of grace we praise you for the gift of prayer and being able to talk with you about anything. Hel us to be aware of the needs of others and to bring these to you as we praise your name. Amen.

RESOURCE:  Sandra Glahn, “Teach Us to Pray,” Grand Rapids, MI: Our Daily Bread Ministries, p.15-18