The Puritan John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, in his treatise on prayer defines true prayer in this way:
“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God.”
Prayer is how God’s children speak to Him. We come to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit. And just like a baby is not born speaking, but can only make simple sounds and cries, so we also need to learn and grow and grow up into Christians who can speak well with our Father. Like a newborn’s cries, our first prayers are simple cries for help, for our most basic needs. We will never outgrow our need for God to care for us, but we do grow better able to express those needs.
Children learn to speak by being around adult conversation and by being directly spoken to. This is also how we learn to pray. Not by learning a set of rules to keep us within the lines, but by participating in the practice of prayer.
The Bible is full of the practice of prayer. We will learn more about prayer by simply praying the prayers of the Bible than by any other means.
Think of it this way. If you are trying to learn a new language, once you’ve got a basic understanding, you want to expose yourself to it more fully. You watch movies in that language, and you read books in that new language, not because you want to memorize exactly the order of words out of the mouth of some actor on television, but so that you can hear how a native speaker handles his language. In the Bible we have the prayers of men and women who were taught to speak the language.
Prayer is both individual and corporate. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us to pray in secret, not making big flashy prayers meant to impress everyone within earshot. But at the same time, the prayer He teaches us, the Lord’s Prayer, is not individualistic.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:9-13
The letters of the New Testament assume the churches are gathering together and one of the main things they are doing in those gatherings is praying with and for one another. In the book of Acts we see the whole Church gathered and praying together multiple times. And it is at these times that God works mightily. He sends His Spirit in fresh power among the believers. He delivers them from prison and shipwreck and death. He opens minds to understand the Gospel.
If we want full immersion in the language of prayer, there is no better book for us but the Psalter. The Psalms have every need and every mood covered. Through the Psalms we see that prayer covers all of human life.
Prayer can be simply the outpouring of praise to God for who He is and what He has done. Psalm 146-150
We confess our sins and plead for mercy, and remind ourselves that God is merciful. Psalm 32, 51, 130
When individuals pray together corporately, we can thank God for how He has delivered us and invite the rest of the congregation to thank God with us. Psalm 34, 40
We can cry out to God to deliver us from our troubles. Psalm 25, 26, 28
We can be honest with God about our doubts and despair. Psalm 13, 42, 88
A full third of the Psalms are laments, “God, these evil things are happening. You seem so far away. Why won’t You deliver me today? But I know You are God and Your ways are good. You will deliver me at the proper time, as You have done before. I will trust You.”
So when you pray, you can ask God for things. You can ask Him to act on your behalf as His child. But also thank Him for what He has done. Rehearse His faithfulness before others. Speak to Him as a great King and loving Father.
