Is Your Prayer Life Missing Something? 5 Things to do When You Pray

Prayer is how we communicate with God. Often prayer is seen simply as a means to request something from God, but it is so much more. Prayer is also giving thanks to God, worshiping Him, asking for our needs and the needs of others to be met, seeking guidance and wisdom, and asking forgiveness. If you want to learn to pray (like Jesus did) or grow in your prayer life then it’s time to start praying for more than needs and wants.

How to Pray (Like Jesus did)

Jesus provided an example of how to pray. Called “The Lord’s prayer”, this gives us a guide for our own prayers. It’s not about simply repeating the exact words (although you can) but rather hitting the same points: Praise and thanksgiving, worship, asking for God’s will, presenting your requests, repenting and forgiving, and asking for protection. However, if every prayer you say doesn’t follow this exact format it doesn’t mean God won’t hear you or act on your behalf. There are times when your prayers will be quick and concise and that’s fine. But God is intentional. He wouldn’t have given us this example if all of these components weren’t important to our spiritual health and growth.

Discipling myself to pray like this has helped me grow in the way I pray and mature in my faith overall. As often as you can, practice praying the way Jesus instructed His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13:

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one.

1. Start With Praise & Thanksgiving

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;  give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”

The prayer begins acknowledging the Holiness of God the Father. It’s crucial to approach God with the right perspective and attitude. We’re not talking to just anyone, but to the God of the universe. Acknowledge God for who He is and thank Him for all that He’s done for you. Beginning prayer this way magnifies God and shifts your focus to God’s power and sovereignty. Thanking Him for all He’s done for you will increase your gratitude and will help you focus on what you have instead of what you lack.

2. Seek God’s Will

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 16:24-25

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

As a follower of Christ, we are called to lay down our life and follow Jesus. It’s no longer about our will, but God’s. After praise, Jesus asks for the Father’s will to be done. This is so opposite of human nature. Our instinct is to start asking for what we want. However, true surrender isn’t asking God to say yes or no to your plans, rather openly seeking and following His plans.

Seeking God’s will isn’t just about the “big” things like your purpose or who you’re going to marry. It’s seeking Him in for all things. Every morning I ask God questions like, “What should I prioritize at work?”, “Who should I reach out to or check on?”, and “What do I need to surrender that I haven’t?”. I ask God to show me His will and then, help me live it out.

3. Ask For Your Needs

“Give us today our daily bread.”

This is when you present your prayer requests for the day - peace, guidance, patience for a coworker, help to pay a bill, healing for a family member, etc… The keyword here is daily. God provides for us daily. He doesn’t expect us to live off of yesterday’s portion or worry about tomorrow. Each day we can come to him with our petitions and each day He will give us exactly what we need. In John 6:35 Jesus states that He is the bread of life. Food sustains us physically, but Jesus sustains us fully. He can and will meet our spiritual, emotional, material, and physical needs as we abide in Him.

5. Repent, Ask For Forgiveness, and Forgive Others.

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Colossians 3:13

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

When we become followers of Christ we are made righteous in the eyes of God; He no longer counts our sin against us. However, righteous doesn’t mean perfect. We’re righteous because we put our faith in Christ and not because we get it right all of the time. There is still work to be done because even after we are saved, we don’t automatically stop sinning. Therefore, we must seek God and ask Him to reveal our sin to us.

You may know what you need to repent of (cussing out a coworker, gossiping, lying to your boss, etc..) or you may be unaware (sanctification is a process and God doesn’t reveal all your faults to you at once). Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you’re missing the mark. Are you holding any grudges? Harboring offense or bitterness? Is there someone you need to forgive for any reason? This is the time to do it. If you feel like you can’t or it’s too hard, tell God that too. He is a good Father and will not leave you to handle these things on your own.

5. Pray for Wisdom and Protection

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:11-12

The prayer ends with praying for spiritual protection. It’s important to remember that our fight has always been and will always be spiritual. The enemy’s goal is to steal, kill, and destroy us ( John 10:10). He prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Be sure to pray for God’s protection, and strength and wisdom to overcome temptation.

Allow Time For God to Respond

Depending on your current prayer routine this could feel like a lot to incorporate, but don’t be discouraged. I use to feel the same way. My advice - take your time. Length does not equal effectiveness or holiness. Go through each of the steps and pray as God leads you. The key is being faithful to the process. Jesus wouldn’t have included all of these components in his prayer if they weren’t important.

After you’re done, don’t rush off. It’s easy to view prayer as one-sided- requesting things from God, but it’s also how we hear from Him. Give him time to speak, to respond to your questions, lead you to scripture, and ask some questions of His own. As I receive answers I ask follow-up questions because I’m not only seeking answers, I’m also seeking to understand God’s heart.

That’s what prayer is all about. It’s how we commune with God and where intimacy is birthed and deepened. Allow your prayer time to be the two-way conversation it’s meant to be and you’ll get so much more out of it.