Tell Me How to Pray
Ever have anybody ask you how to pray? I have. What do you tell them?
Prayer is conversation with God, plain and simple. You talk to God in your own way. (Do you think that if you prayed like Billy Graham or Charles Stanley, God wouldn't recognize that it was really you, the one He considers His priceless treasure?)
You don't have to use long words, or be pretentious. Just consider that God is a friend who is right here, right now, and is hanging on your every word. ("Ask and it will be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you." Luke 11:9) Remember, of course, that in any conversation, you ought to be careful to listen for what the other party has to say--- God may surprise you!
I hate to burst your bubble, but praying out loud in church or some other group isn't a fine art that few can learn. The more your public prayer can still be an intimate conversation with God (with the congregation listening in and agreeing), the more honest it is. God doesn't want a show; God wants to know your heart.
