I came across an article from Barna that listed three of the greatest problems with Gen Z, and the top two had to do with prayer. One of them had to deal with ‘how to pray’ and it of course resonated as many people, not just Gen Z struggles with this; including me from time to time. I thought I might try and help someone who has this problem by breaking down that very word: PRAY.
This reminded me of a graphic I came across that helped explain how we might be able to pray better by making an acronym out of that word. It started with the P and it stood for praise. When we approach our heavenly Father, one of the things we should utter is our praise to Him. How we honor and adore the only true and living God, and creator of the universe. Many of the Psalms speak on this so you may just want to repeat one of these songs.
Psalm 66:2 says, “Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious.” Elsewhere it says, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:3). All of Psalm 150 is praising and thanking Yahweh for all He does as well. These are just a few examples, but let Him know you are thankful for the many things he does, especially the salvation we have in Him.
The R was for repentance. Another thing we can pray for is telling Him where we may have slipped up along the way. We’re not perfect beings but part of our sanctification process is asking for repentance for our shortcomings.
One example that comes to mind is Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. Starting in verse 13, it says that he was baptized in the name of the Lord but soon after, he saw that the apostles had the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and he wanted that ability too. He thought it would be a good idea to try and purchase these gifts (v 18-19) but was told his heart was not right with God and he needed to repent. We’re not always going to get it right because sin is still rampant in the world, but prayer is a great time to repent, clear your conscious with God, and start fresh.
The A was for asking. This is usually where most people start but it might be a good habit to start with the first two letters. We must remember that God is the creator, not us. We live under His rule but He’s gracious to us and will give us things we ask for (John 14:13-14).
Many think it just means physical things to ask for but God will always provide those things. Think about non-material things as well. Like opening doors and opportunities at work or at home. If God allows you to have such things, you will get them in time.
This brings us to our last letter of Y which was for yielding. There are times that God will grant you things and there are times where He won’t. Above all though, we need to yield to His will, not our own. Just because we want doesn’t necessarily mean that God thinks we need it.
We can see this in Jesus’ prayer the night when He was betrayed. In Luke 22:42, Jesus illustrates this when He prayed, “…Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Pray that God can help us yield to His will more and more each day.
If we wanted to see all of these laid out, look no further than Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6. His disciples asked Him this very question and His response was one of the most recited prayers in all of history. He says,
“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. (praise)
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. (yield)
Give us this day our daily bread. (ask)
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. (repent)
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one. (ask)
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”
(vs. 9-13, parenthesis added).
I hope this helps you. There is no right or wrong way to pray. We can really pray about anything and everything. Our Heavenly Father, just wants to hear from us.
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