When we ask the question, "How should we pray?" The only answer comes from the perfect example of prayer set by Jesus Christ. The most well known of all prayers is the Lord's prayer found in Matthew 5:9-13. This prayer was given by Jesus for the very reason of teaching people how to pray.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. (NIV)
If you break Jesus prayer down into it's parts then you have the outline for how to pray to God. First of all, Jesus sets the example that prayer is not human centered. Unfortunately many people open and close their prayers as though they were rubbing a magic lamp and making a wish. "Lord, ____________is bad please fix it." While the prayer may be longer, often times this is the just of the prayer.
Jesus Teaches us to open our prayer with Praise and Exultation to God. Prayer is a time of open communication between you and the maker of the universe. Show the proper respect to God when you come before him by giving praise for all the good things he has already blessed you with.
Then, and only then, place before God the needs of your life. Even in doing this remember that you are asking that it be done if it is God's Will, not yours. Sometimes we don't always want what is best, we have to give credit to God to know what is best for our lives and for his ultimate plan.
Our third act in prayer should be to repent. None of us are perfect, we should not try to hide our short comings from God, instead we should be open and honest saying that we know we have failed and then ask God for his forgiveness. Don't be afraid, nothing you have done can separate you from the love of God, he just wants you to be open enough with him to admit when you mess up so he can give you the gift of forgiveness. How does his forgiveness work? He throws your sin as far away as the East is from the West, that's how far your sins are removed. Wow.
Finally, your prayer should include a little talk time for God. You have come before God and done a lot of talking. Make sure to leave some time when you stop talking and you yield yourself to listening for a special word from God. This is after all a two way call, if you say your piece then end the prayer and go on you cheat yourself out of the blessings you might receive if you pause a few moments and allow God to lay his message on your heart.
So in Conclusion your prayer should consist of Four main parts:
1. Praise and Exultation
2. Asking for God to meet your needs
3. Repentance
4. A time of yielding to listen
