"Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus' discipes, as recorded in Luke 11:1
What is the right way to pray? It's a question that I have been asked on more than one occasion in life, and one that probably sticks in the mind of many people, yet never gets voiced. And, truth be told, if you go to one of those Bible search websites and do a word search for pray or prayer, it can get even more confusing.
Think about it. In the Bible, we have different ways of praying emphasized in different parts. In Matthew 5, Jesus says not to pray publicly, to be noticed by others, but to go into your room, and shut the door. But then, we have places like some of Paul's letters which call for God's people to pray together, and even in some dynamic ways. In 1 Timothy 2:8, he would even seem to be calling for men to pray in a particular way, with hands held up. And yet, if we read in places like 1 Samuel 1:1-20, we see Hannah praying quietly before the "temple", likely the tabernacle of God, quietly and privately, yet in a public place.
So what is the right way? Well, from a place or posture standpoint, what the Bible seems to paint for us is a picture that there is no one set way or place. That is left up to us, and really, it seems to place an emphasis that we can and should pray in any way, at any place.
Does that mean that there isn't a right way to pray, then? Well, I would suggest that we approach this question more from an attitude basis. Is there a right way to pray? Yes, in the way that we approach our God, asking for His will and His guidance be done in our lives. We pray to God, asking that God would bring about those things in our lives that are best suited for the furtherance of His will and His design. We pray that God would guide us according to His will, and that the things we ask for would bring further glory to Him, and not to merely to us.
In the end, it seems that the Bible would guide us more to the right attitude of prayer than to the right way or posture or place. When our heart is set on God and on His will, anyplace is the right place, and any posture is the right posture. Faith that God is doing His work seems to be that which is right when it comes to our prayer life.
What is the right way to pray? It's a question that I have been asked on more than one occasion in life, and one that probably sticks in the mind of many people, yet never gets voiced. And, truth be told, if you go to one of those Bible search websites and do a word search for pray or prayer, it can get even more confusing.
Think about it. In the Bible, we have different ways of praying emphasized in different parts. In Matthew 5, Jesus says not to pray publicly, to be noticed by others, but to go into your room, and shut the door. But then, we have places like some of Paul's letters which call for God's people to pray together, and even in some dynamic ways. In 1 Timothy 2:8, he would even seem to be calling for men to pray in a particular way, with hands held up. And yet, if we read in places like 1 Samuel 1:1-20, we see Hannah praying quietly before the "temple", likely the tabernacle of God, quietly and privately, yet in a public place.
So what is the right way? Well, from a place or posture standpoint, what the Bible seems to paint for us is a picture that there is no one set way or place. That is left up to us, and really, it seems to place an emphasis that we can and should pray in any way, at any place.
Does that mean that there isn't a right way to pray, then? Well, I would suggest that we approach this question more from an attitude basis. Is there a right way to pray? Yes, in the way that we approach our God, asking for His will and His guidance be done in our lives. We pray to God, asking that God would bring about those things in our lives that are best suited for the furtherance of His will and His design. We pray that God would guide us according to His will, and that the things we ask for would bring further glory to Him, and not to merely to us.
In the end, it seems that the Bible would guide us more to the right attitude of prayer than to the right way or posture or place. When our heart is set on God and on His will, anyplace is the right place, and any posture is the right posture. Faith that God is doing His work seems to be that which is right when it comes to our prayer life.
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