What is prayer?

By Jennifer Moreno

Prayer is communicating with G-d, it is a conversation with G-d and a direct phone line with heaven. G-d wants us to communicate with Him all the times and He wants us to form a relationship with Him.

When Jesus was here on earth, He modeled for us what we should be doing. As Paul wrote in Tessallonians 5:17- “pray without ceasing.”

It is during your prayer time that you get to know G-d and to build a relationship with Him. Jesus gave us instructions on how to pray by saying the following: “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:5-6).

There are two types of prayer that Jesus highlights, the “showcase” prayer and the “relational prayer”. The showcase prayer essentially is the person trying to bring attention to themselves. The relational prayer is when you seek G-d’s heart in private.

Our Father in heaven knows our heart and he knows our motives. So when you pray, be careful not to get caught up in the “showcase” of it and instead really pray for the needs of the people or whomever you’re praying for.

Also, when you pray it is important to listen to the voice of G-d. We tend to think of prayer as us just talking to G-d, but really we should also learn how to experience G-d, listen to His voice, and be in the spirit. Like Romans 10:17 says “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of G-d.”

During Jesus’s sermon on the mount, Jesus modeled to us how we should pray …“So pray this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:9-13).

The first part we acknowledge G-d as our Lord and king, we honor him. Then we proceed with ‘may your kingdom come’ because ultimately that is what G-d wants, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Then we ask for our bread for tomorrow, we ask for forgiveness and we also forgive others. And lastly we ask G-d to help us stand up against temptation and to deliver us from the enemy.

This prayer is brilliant I must say, it is simple and full of wisdom. It tells us to whom we are praying and for what we should pray and it also puts things into perspective and priority.

G-d bless you all!