How do you pray? Why do you Pray?
This is the way that I have learned to pray. Not saying it is the perfect way to pray. But I have learned these things from wise people as well as scripture.
How to Pray
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
What does this mean? Well for starters many people do not pray in this manner. People often only pray about what they want or when they are sad or lonely. However, Paul knew what he was talking about when he wrote this. He had been to prison, been beaten, and been in circumstances where praying and having joy seemed like the last thing a person should do. But he stayed constant in these things and as a result are closer to the Lord through it all.
How often do we thank God no matter what we are going through? Even in the hard times when you don't think you can make it through, are you thankful? Or do you wallow in self pity and just complain to God?
God has done so much for us, yet we complain. Whether it is circumstances, loved ones dying, things not going our way, or countless other things, we complain. Why? Well it is human nature. But that isn't what we are supposed to do. Don't get me wrong, you should talk to God about everything, including your problems, issues, and how you feel. But you should also be thankful. No matter what is going on, we need to to be selfish, and instead focus on the positive things such as we wouldn't be here if it weren't for God and his love.
Praying in Reverence
Lately, I have been hearing a lot of people that pray starting with, "Hey God." While I fully believe most of the people that pray with this opening have good intentions, it is not a very biblical way to pray.
Whenever people in the Bible pray, they do so out of a humble reverence for God. Having reverence for God basically means having a deep respect or respectful fear of Him. This means that praying to God by saying, "hey God" doesn't respect Him the way that he should be respected. Not saying that it is extremely disrespectful, but we should go about praying in a respectful way.
Pray for God's will, not your own!
"Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groupings too deep for words."
The way that I interpret this verse is that we don't always know what to pray for. Therefore we should pray for what God wants and His will. No matter what, our will will always be selfish whether we realize or not. So only praying for God will be righteous because even his selfish will is righteous. And whatever God wants is for our good and for the good of mankind.
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