How to Pray

There was something about Jesus and the way He prayed that caused His disciples to ask Him, "teach us to pray." Many people see prayer as important but still lack confidence in this area. This first message of our "How to Pray" series is designed to speak to our hesitancy, build our confidence and set a plan for a praying lifestyle we actually love.

Most of us would agree that prayer is important, but how we view God will determine if our prayer life is motivated by duty or by delight. In this message, we’ll unpack the beautiful Father-heart of God that draws us into free and full relationship with Him.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He was showing them a rhythm that would serve them and connect them intimately with Him and with His plan for them on earth. This same pattern is for us today! The pattern begins with pausing, and then moves into childlike praise and adoration.

The most basic understanding of prayer that it is making requests to God - asking. And while that seems simple enough, there is a lot of confusion, emotion, and baggage in our hearts when it comes to asking God. In this message, we’ll tackle some hang-ups that most of us have when it comes to prayer and discover the beauty and freedom of bringing our requests to the Father.

What to Do When Prayer Just Doesn't Work. Most everyone has had an experience when God chooses not to answer a prayer and it rocks their faith. Whether it’s a miscarriage, a death of a loved one, a marriage coming to an end, or the betrayal of a close friend, we find ourselves asking why and not seeing any good reason God wouldn’t answer. So great is the loss and difficult the journey that some choose to give up on prayer or worse, on God all together. In this last session of How To Pray we look to the example of Jesus to discover what to do when prayer just doesn’t work.