Elderly man with hand on forehead at night.

HOW ARE WE TO PRAY?

Prayer begins with the Father’s glory, aligns us with His kingdom, surrenders to His will, and rests in His faithful care

Prayer stands at the center of the Christian life because it draws us into living communion with the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture. It is not a ritual we perform to earn attention, and it is not a technique designed to unlock spiritual outcomes. Prayer is the truest sense a deep relationship between a child speaking to the Father, and a redeemed heart turning toward the One who first loved us.

Throughout the Bible, we see men and women who speak to God with reverence and honesty. Abraham intercedes with bold humility. Hannah pours out her grief in the temple. David cries, rejoices, confesses, and worships in the Psalms. In the New Testament, the disciples watch Jesus pray and realise that His communion with the Father shapes everything else in His life. So they did not ask Him to teach them to preach, but how to pray.

When we ask how we are to pray, Scripture does not give us a mechanical sequence. It gives us posture, priorities, and promises. Jesus provides the clearest framework in the prayer often called the Lord’s Prayer. In it, He reveals both the heart of God and the ordered longings of a transformed soul.

Let us walk through this prayer slowly, listening carefully to the wisdom of Christ.

Practicing the Presence: A Life that Breaths Prayer.

Before learning the intended structure of the Lord’s Prayer, we must also ask how prayer fills the ordinary hours of life. The pattern Jesus gives us is order and depth for a specific reason. Combined with the prayers of the Holy Spirit and life of prayer is wide and warm than pure structure alone. It becomes a continual turning of the heart toward the Father, a lived awareness that we stand every moment before His loving face. This is where the testimony of Brother Lawrence shines with almost disarming brightness.

Brother Lawrence did not live in a study lined with theological volumes. He lived in a kitchen. He scrubbed pans. He carried wood. He prepared meals for other monks. Yet his person revealed a man nearly overwhelmed by the nearness of Christ. In The Practice of the Presence of God, he speaks of God’s love with a simplicity that feels like fire wrapped in gentleness. He trained his heart to return to the Father again and again during the day. He spoke to Him in short expressions of trust and affection.

He offered each small task as a gift. Over time, what began as faithful discipline became deep delight. Joy did not visit him occasionally, it settled within him.

He had discovered that Christ was not confined to chapels or set hours of devotion. The risen Lord walked with him among pots and ladles. That realisation filled him with such gratitude, a steady and tender heart that it overflowed with love.

This kind of life is wondrous because it is profoundly biblical. Jesus promised abiding fellowship. Paul wrote of praying without ceasing. Brother Lawrence simply believed those words and practiced them. The joy he experienced was not emotional excess, but what naturally happens when we are in constant conversation with God.

When prayer becomes the atmosphere of the soul, dryness eventually begins to fade. The Father is no longer approached only in urgent need. He is deeply enjoyed. Ordinary work becomes shared life. The day unfolds as companionship with God. Such communion does not remove responsibility or struggle, yet it fills both with quiet radiance. To live like this is to discover that the peace of Christ can steady the busiest hour and that joy can rise, again and again, from simply knowing He is near.

Our Father In Heaven

When Jesus teaches His disciples to begin with “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), He anchors prayer in relationship before request. God is addressed as Father and there is a vital importance to it. Because it reshapes everything. It speaks of nearness, care, authority, provision, and belonging. Through Christ, believers are adopted into God’s family. As Paul writes in Romans 8:15, we have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Many believers quietly admit that prayer can feel dry, where words seem to fall flat and the heart feels distracted or small. Jesus directs us to begin by lifting our eyes. When we deliberately recall who God is, awe awakens. We remember His majesty, His creative power, His absolute holiness, and His steadfast love. As wonder grows, faith grows with it. A heart stunned by God’s greatness finds it easier to trust that He truly hears.

Creating a clear vision of God at the beginning of prayer guards us from reducing Him to a helper for our plans. It purifies our motives. and steadies our emotions. When anxiety presses in, contemplation of His sovereignty restores perspective. When guilt burdens the conscience, remembering His fatherly mercy restores hope. When confusion clouds the mind, recalling His wisdom brings quiet confidence. Worship shapes the atmosphere of prayer.

The phrase “in heaven” lifts our understanding beyond familiarity. The Father who invites us close also reigns above history and holds every detail in His hands. John Calvin described prayer as the chief exercise of faith because faith rests in the character of God. When we say “Our Father,” we confess trust in His goodness. When we say “in heaven,” we acknowledge His sovereign authority. These truths strengthen belief that He listens with both love and power.

Notice also the word “our.” Prayer draws us into a shared family. Even when alone, we stand among brothers and sisters across the world and across the centuries. This widens the heart. It protects us from self-absorption and reminds us that the Father we adore gathers a people to Himself. Beginning with awe, relationship, and reverence prepares the soul for every request that follows.

Hallowed be Your Name

Jesus next directs us to the worship of God’s name. “Hallowed” means honored, revered, treated as holy. It continues to the first movement of prayer, not toward our needs, but toward God’s glory. This order shapes the soul and clarifies reality.

In Scripture, God’s name represents His character. To pray that His name be hallowed is to long that He be seen and honoured for who He truly is. This aligns our hearts with the central purpose of creation itself. Isaiah 43:7 speaks of humanity being created for God’s glory. Prayer trains us to desire that glory above all else.

Worship also reorders our affections. When we magnify God, anxieties begin to shrink. A.W. Tozer often wrote that what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Beginning prayer with adoration refines that vision.

Jesus places this first because love delights in the beloved. A child who loves his father speaks of him with honor. In the same way, the praying heart delights to exalt God before asking anything for itself.

Your Kingdom Come

Again, the order is deliberate, after worship, Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s kingdom. This expresses longing for His reign to be fully realised on earth. The kingdom of God refers to His saving rule through Christ, advancing through the gospel and culminating in His final restoration of all things.

Praying for the kingdom enlarges our perspective and is letting us think of others first. It draws us beyond personal concerns and into God’s redemptive plan. The early church lived with this expectation. They prayed with urgency because they believed history was moving toward the visible reign of Christ.

This petition also shapes our priorities. When we ask for God’s kingdom to come, we are offering ourselves as willing participants. We are saying, in effect, that we desire His purposes to unfold in our lives, our churches, and our communities.

Jonathan Edwards spoke of a heart captivated by God’s grand design. Prayer for the kingdom nurtures that captivation. It keeps us from shrinking faith into private spirituality and invites us into the vast story of redemption.

Your Will Be Done, On Earth As It is In Heaven

This line deepens the previous one. God’s will is perfectly obeyed in heaven. Jesus teaches us to desire that same joyful obedience here. This petition forms humility within us, and acknowledges that God’s wisdom surpasses our understanding.

Submitting to God’s will does not suppress desire. It actually refines it. Jesus Himself prayed in Gethsemane with surrender to the Father’s will. In doing so, the greatest blow against evil ever had been unleashed. He revealed that true freedom flows from trust in God's divine wisdom.

Praying for God’s will cultivates spiritual maturity, as it loosens our grip on personal agendas and opens our hearts to divine direction. Many spiritual writers, including Elisabeth Elliot, have emphasised that surrender is the doorway to peace.

This order matters. Only after worshiping God and longing for His kingdom do we turn to personal needs. Only afer our hearts have been steadied and aligned.

Give Us Our Daily Bread

Now Jesus turns to our needs. “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Bread represents daily provision in its simplest and most essential form. This request acknowledges dependence on Him alone. Every breath, every meal, every opportunity comes from God’s hand, not from what we earn or from the numbers in our bank account. Work has dignity, planning has wisdom, stewardship has value, yet beneath them all stands the sustaining will of God.

The early church father Augustine of Hippo observed that when we ask for daily bread, we are confessing that we are creatures, not self-sustaining beings. We receive life continually. Prayer for provision keeps pride from taking root because it reminds us that even the strongest and most disciplined person lives moment by moment through divine generosity. Gratitude grows where entitlement once tried to settle.

The phrase “this day” teaches us to live in present trust. God provides for today’s needs. This echoes Israel’s experience with manna in the wilderness, recorded in Exodus 16, where daily reliance cultivated faith. They gathered what was sufficient for each morning. Hoarded manna decayed. The lesson shaped a people who had to look upward again and again. In the same way, Jesus trains His disciples to live in steady dependence rather than anxious accumulation.

This petition also affirms that material concerns matter to God. He cares for bodies as well as souls. The Son of God fed hungry crowds and attended to ordinary human needs during His earthly ministry. Charles Spurgeon once encouraged his congregation to bring even the smallest concerns before the Lord, explaining that what troubles a child concerns a loving father. Nothing is beneath His notice because love pays attention.

Martin Luther, in his explanation of this petition, widened the meaning of daily bread to include everything necessary for life: food, shelter, good government, faithful friends, peace in the community, fruitful work. Such a vision enlarges prayer beyond personal survival. We begin to intercede for social stability, justice, and the flourishing of neighbors. Daily bread becomes a shared gift within a larger human family.

Yet the order remains significant. Provision follows worship and surrender. We first adore the Father, honor His name, long for His kingdom, and yield to His will. Then we speak of bread. Our needs are real, and Jesus invites us to express them plainly. They are framed within devotion to God’s glory, which protects us from turning prayer into a list of demands. When daily bread is sought within this larger vision, it becomes an act of trust, gratitude, and humble reliance on the One who sustains all things.

Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Aslo Have Forgiven Our Debtors

Jesus then leads us into the tender ground of confession and reconciliation. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Debts speak of real moral obligations before a holy God. They are not vague mistakes or unfortunate weaknesses. They are failures of love, moments when we have stepped out of harmony with His will. Yet we approach Him as children who already belong to Him through Christ. We come as forgiven sinners who still depend, every day, on renewing grace.

There is deep beauty in this invitation. God does not ask us to hide. He does not require polished words or spiritual pretense. Confession cultivates honesty before the One who sees all things clearly. The heart that confesses grows soft again. Layers of self-justification fall away. According to 1 John 1:9, He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. Forgiveness is not reluctant. It flows from the finished work of Christ. In prayer, burdens loosen their grip and the soul breathes more freely.

Confession also protects joy. Unconfessed sin clouds assurance and dims spiritual sight. When we bring our debts into the light, communion is restored. The psalms often move from anguish to praise through confession. David describes the relief of forgiven sin as the lifting of crushing weight. Prayer becomes the sacred place where grace is freshly received and gratitude is rekindled.

Jesus joins our plea for forgiveness with our willingness to forgive others. Grace is relational. It reshapes the way we see those who have wounded us. The forgiven heart begins to reflect the mercy it has received. This does not minimize real hurt, and it does not excuse injustice. It releases vengeance into God’s hands and chooses the path of freedom. Forgiveness restores dignity to the wounded soul and protects the unity of Christ’s people.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the Christian community stands or falls on the forgiveness of sins. In Life Together, he explains that believers live from the daily gift of Christ’s mercy toward one another. Prayer keeps this foundation visible. When we kneel and confess, pride loses its voice. When we rise having forgiven, love grows stronger. What could feel heavy at first becomes radiant with grace, because in confession and reconciliation we participate in the very heart of God.

Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us from Evil

The final petition acknowledges spiritual vulnerability. We depend on God for moral strength and protection. This expresses awareness that the Christian life unfolds in a world marked by spiritual conflict.

Asking for guidance away from temptation cultivates watchfulness. It invites God’s guarding presence into daily decisions. Paul urges believers in Ephesians 6 to stand firm in spiritual armor. Prayer is part of that vigilance.

“Deliver us from evil” expresses trust in God’s rescuing power. It recognizes that ultimate safety rests in Him. This request closes the prayer with reliance, just as it began with relationship.

The Lord’s Prayer therefore moves from worship to surrender, from provision to forgiveness, from daily needs to spiritual preservation. Jesus orders our desires so that God’s glory stands first, His purposes shape our hearts, and our needs find their rightful place within His loving care.

Prayer is neither formula nor performance. It is communion shaped by truth. When we follow the pattern Christ gives, we discover that our hearts are gradually conformed to His.

References and Further Reading

The following authors and sources inform the theological and devotional depth reflected in this article. Each approaches prayer from a distinct angle, yet all share a commitment to Scripture, reverence for God, and a desire to cultivate living communion with Him. Together they provide historical wisdom, pastoral clarity, and spiritual warmth for those seeking to grow in prayer.

Authors Cited

Brother Lawrence (1614–1691)
A Carmelite monk best known for The Practice of the Presence of God. His testimony emphasizes continual awareness of God in ordinary tasks. He models a life in which prayer becomes steady companionship rather than isolated religious moments.

John Calvin (1509–1564)
Reformer and theologian who described prayer as “the chief exercise of faith.” His writings stress reverence, dependence, and confidence in God’s sovereign character.

A. W. Tozer (1897–1963)
Pastor and author who frequently emphasized the centrality of one’s view of God. He taught that worship shapes the soul and that a high vision of God purifies prayer.

Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758)
Theologian and preacher who wrote about the beauty of God’s kingdom and the transformation of the affections. His thought enriches the understanding of praying for God’s reign and glory.

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015)
Christian writer who consistently highlighted surrender to God’s will as the pathway to peace and spiritual maturity.

Augustine of Hippo (354–430)
Early church father who reflected deeply on dependence upon God. His theology of grace informs the understanding of daily reliance expressed in the petition for daily bread.

Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892)
Pastor and preacher known for encouraging believers to bring every concern to God, trusting in the tender care of a loving Father.

Martin Luther (1483–1546)
Reformer who expanded the meaning of “daily bread” to include all necessities of life, teaching that prayer embraces both spiritual and earthly concerns.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945)
Pastor and theologian who emphasized confession, forgiveness, and community. In Life Together, he writes that Christian fellowship rests upon shared repentance and grace.

Primary Biblical Sources Referenced

Matthew 6:9–13
Romans 8:15
Isaiah 43:7
Matthew 6:11–12
1 John 1:9
Ephesians 6
Exodus 16