How do you know how to pray when you really need the Lord right now and just feel lost when you pray?

Answer 1

Prayer in Times of Real Need

• Pray from your heart. Talk to God as you would your best friend because He is. Don't worry about formalities. Forgive anyone you may be holding unforgiveness toward. Ask God to forgive you for ways you may have missed the mark. Be still and give God a chance to "talk" to you. Thank Him for His guidance. God will answer your prayers and life will get better.

• When we need help and comfort, we often turn to a close friend for support and sympathy. Well, no friend is more easily accessible than Jehovah. He is a help that is readily to be found during distresses. (Psalm 46:1) As the God of all comfort, he understands what we are going through better than anyone else. (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4; Psalm 5:1; 31:7) And he has real empathy and compassion for those in dire straits. (Isaiah 63:9; Luke 1:77, 78)

The Bible states: Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter. (Psalm 55:22) In a similar vein, Paul wrote: Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with Thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7) Earnest and regular prayer will help you gain peace. Jesus was an excellent example in this regard. On occasion, he prayerfully spoke with his heavenly Father for hours at a time. (Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12) Prayer helped him to endure the worst of trials. On the night before his death, his distress grew very intense. His reaction? He prayed more earnestly. (Luke 22:44) Yes, the perfect Son of God was a man of prayer. How much more, then, should his imperfect followers cultivate the habit of prayer! Jesus taught his disciples always to pray and not to give up. (Luke 18:1) Prayer is real and vital communication with the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. (Psalm 103:14) If we are to preserve the peace of the Christ in our hearts, we need to pray incessantly.1 Thessalonians 5:17. When we pray, we must have real faith. The Bible says that he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him. (Hebrews 11:6) Faith is more than just believing that God exists, that he is. True faith involves a strong belief in God's ability and desire to help us. Jehovah listens to our prayers when they are offered with a complete heart. The psalmist wrote: I have called with my whole heart. me, O Jehovah. (Psalm 119:145) Unlike the ritualistic prayers in many religions, our prayers are not perfunctory or halfhearted. When we pray to Jehovah with our whole heart, our words are charged with meaning and purpose. After such earnest prayers, we begin to experience the relief that comes from throwing our burden upon Jehovah himself. As the Bible promises, he himself will sustain? us. Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:6, 7. But what if we are so distressed that we can't find the words to express in prayer? Romans 8:26, 27 shows that the Christian, under certain circumstances, will not know just what to pray for; but his unuttered groanings are nonetheless understood by God. The apostle shows that this is by means of God's spirit, or active force. It should be remembered that it was by his spirit that God inspired the Scriptures. (2Ti 3:16, 17; 2Pe 1:21) So God even has the ability to understand what we are asking, when we may not even know ourselves.

What are your expectations when you pray? Don't be so hard on yourself. According to the Bible, Christ said to pray thusly: Our Father (indicating that Christ is subservient to God like us), Which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. (praise) Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven. (no matter our personal wants and needs, desiring that God's will be done) Give us this day our daily bread (allegorical reference to spiritual sustenance as well as physical need) And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. (a new version of "an eye for an eye") And lead us not into temptation (don't test me like Job?) But deliver us from evil (help me) For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. If you feel a little lost when you pray, you might be normal. If you feel in total command and control when you pray, you might be a money grubbing TV preacher. This life is not the end all. Do not despair and do what you are able, which is equally expected by God of all.

How to PrayMatthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Feeling Closer To God When You PrayIf you feel lost when you pray, try reading these scriptures to reinforce your belief that God does indeed hear and care about us all - even if we don't feel it right now:

• Psalms 94:9 - 'He that planted the ear, shall He not hear?'

• Psalm 6:9 - 'The Lord has heard my supplication ; the Lord will receive my prayer'

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 - 'If my people ,which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.'

• John 14:13- 'And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do'.

• Romans 8:26 - 'Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us.'

................and there are many, many others - check in a concordance. That last one says a great deal about how prayer works in these New Testament times. It doesn't matter if you haven't got the 'right' words - a sincere heart is all you need. Every Christian has times when they feel less in touch with God, but it's we that move away - even if we don't realize it - and not Him. He is believed to be changeless. For a Christian, sometimes talking to another Christian or reading His Word can get them back on track, believing that God cares.

According to the Bible, you just need to talk to Him, and he will listen. He loves you, and He wants to talk to you all the time. Just tell him whats on your mind, whatever you need to talk about. He knows how you are feeling.

And be patient! he might not answer all your questions straight away. But just know that He loves you.

According to the Bible, Jesus said that "God knows your needs even before you ask him" I find what helps me is to go into my bedroom and when it's quiet shut the door and get down on my knees and cup my hands to my face I try not to rush the prayer but find if I do it every morning my conscious contact with God gets better Iam always careful not to ask much for my self but for other's all I need to ask from God is the basics Iam not going to ask for a new farrari or ask for everything for myself but pray that I will be relieved from the bondage of self and be more helpful to other's and ask for the strength and courage to get through that day only...thanking God for my life that day is something to be thankful for and enough to survive on and that God will give me what I NEED not what I WANT