What do you call a heart that has no heartbeat? What do you call a tree that bears no fruit? What do call a person that has no love for God and love for his brothers and sisters? What do you call a revival without the Holy Spirit? What do you call a church that has no prayer? What do you call faith that has no works? “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead” (James 2: 26 NewRSV). How alive we feel as a Christian is determined by our love for God and our relationship with Him. Prayer demonstrates that relationship.

    Most Christians struggle to pray and that’s because they don’t know how to pray. The disciples of Jesus went through the same struggle. They observed Jesus’ prayerfulness and how God answered His prayers. They saw the intimacy Jesus had with His Heavenly Father. The disciples also longed to have a relationship with God. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and Jesus gives them a guideline to prayer which we know as ‘The Lord’s prayer’.

    9    Pray then in this way:
         Our Father in heaven,
         hallowed be your name.
    10  Your kingdom come.
         Your will be done,
         on earth as it is in heaven.
    11   Give us this day our daily bread. 
    12   And forgive us our debts,
          as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    13   And do not bring us to the time of trial, 
          but rescue us from the evil one. (Mt 6: 9-13, NewRSV)

    The Lord’s prayer is a basic model for us to follow. As we mature in our prayer life, the Holy Spirit will guide us and take us into deeper intimacy with God through prayer. To begin with, let’s follow the guideline.

    Our Father in heaven. Firstly, prayer is directed to God as our Father. Prayer begins with a relationship with God, a relationship where you identify yourself as a son or a daughter of God. This relationship begins at baptism. Also, we address God are our Father, instead of my Father. Therefore, our relationship with God also includes our relationship with the Christian community, our brothers and sisters. Our Faith is not just a personal relationship with God, it is a communal relationship with God as well. We are called to pray in private and we are called to pray with the community as well.

    Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed means to glorify, to bless, to sanctify, to honour, to revere, to worship. So, we continue our prayer by glorifying God, praising His holy name, lifting him higher, exalting Him, bowing down and worshipping Him. Psalms (100:4, NewRSV) says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.” Pray a litany of thanksgiving, to thank God for all He has done for us. Celebrating the Eucharist is a profound way of thanksgiving to God, since the Eucharist means thanksgiving. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we thank God for the paschal mystery, as well as for everything that God has done for us. The Eucharist is the source of extraordinary grace, therefore celebrating the Eucharist daily helps you to be in communion with God. If you are in distress, weak, sick or grieving, participate in the Eucharist regularly and you will receive miraculous victories in your ordeals. Praying in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament is praying in the presence of Jesus. If you want to have a deeper intimacy with Jesus spent some time with Jesus in His presence in the most Blessed Sacrament.

    Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The purpose of prayer is for God’s kingdom to come here on earth and God’s will to be done. God is our King, and our prayer is for His Kingdom to reign amongst us. How can we make God’s kingdom reign amongst us? “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” (Mk 1:15 NewRSV). For a person to receive the kingdom of God, one must repent of their sins, receive God’s mercy and be made righteous.  “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10 NLT).

    Prayer is living a life that is pleasing to God and according to His will. How can one know the will of God? You know the will of God through Logos and Rhema. Logos is the written word of God, as in the scriptures. Therefore, prayer is meditating on the word of God. Rhema is the spoken word of God. As you mature in faith, God will speak to you specifically. God gives specific instructions to believers, revealing insights.

    God calls us to be His living sacrifice. We are called to be pure, holy and consecrated people. We are called to be witnesses and ambassadors of God. How do you live your Christian life, do you witness to others, do you proclaim the Gospel? “Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31 NewRSV). Prayer is proclaiming the Word of God. When you do not proclaim the Word of God, you are not praying because you are not participating in God’s work, for His kingdom to come here on earth. You are not fulfilling the will of God for your life. How will God’s kingdom spread in our midst, if believers do not proclaim the word of God? Start praying and asking God to give you a specific mission. Asking God to show you how you can fulfil God’s will and how you can advance His kingdom.

    Give us this day our daily bread. Prayer is petition and prayer is intercession. We pray for God to meet our needs. We also pray for God to meet the needs of others. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2: 1-2 NewRSV).

    Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Prayer is forgiving our offenders and setting them free and receiving God’s forgiveness in return for the times we have offended others. When we fail to forgive others, we do not receive forgiveness for our wrongdoings. Therefore, it is mandatory that we forgive everyone as soon as possible. Sometimes, the offenders are not willing to change their behaviour or resolve the matter. In such cases you still must forgive the offenders, but since there is no sincere repentance from the offender, reconciliation of the relationship is not possible. In this case, you need to keep away from such people. And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them (Rom 16:17 NLT). “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector (Mt 18: 15-17 NIV).

    Do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. Prayer is spiritual warfare. God’s kingdom has an enemy, the devil. He does not want God’s kingdom to advance and so he will distract you from your purpose by setting out temptations. The devil wants you to fall into sin and fall from your purpose, your destiny and lose your salvation and eternal life. You need to pray to God to give you the grace to resist those temptations and ask God to rescue you from the evil one. Having a prayerful life itself is victory over the devil, for the devil cannot defeat a righteous person, as God’s spirit dwells in that person. We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them (1 Jn 5:18 NRSV).

    In summary, we can answer the question ‘What is prayer?’ by the following:

    Prayer is worshipping God

    Prayer is thanking God.

    Prayer is praising God.

    Prayer is celebrating the Eucharist.

    Prayer is adoring Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament.

    Prayer is singing psalms.

    Prayer is repenting of your sins, participating in the sacrament of reconciliation.

    Prayer is forgiving others as God has graciously forgiven us.

    Prayer is meditating on God’s Word.

    Prayer is being infilled with the Holy Spirit.

    Prayer is tithing and alms-giving.

    Prayer is interceding for others.

    Prayer is receiving God’s provision.

    Prayer is fulfilling God’s will. Therefore, obeying God is prayer.

    Prayer is proclaiming God’s word.

    Prayer is praying in the Holy Spirit.

    Prayer is being a witness to others.

    Prayer is resting in God, in faith.

    Prayer is trusting God and ceasing from all anxieties.

    Prayer is surrendering to God.

    Prayer is spiritual warfare.

    Prayer is resisting the devil.

    Prayer is believing in God’s promises.

    Prayer is singing, clapping and dancing for the Lord.

    Prayer is talking to God.

    Prayer is listening to God.

    Prayer is remaining silent in the presence of God.

    Prayer is living in the truth.

    Prayer is walking humbly with our God.

    Prayer is showing kindness and mercy to others.

    Prayer is faith shown through our actions.

    Prayer is loving God and loving others.

    Prayer is fearing God.

    Prayer is seeking wisdom.

    Prayer is studying God’s word.

    Prayer is reaching out to others in need.

    Prayer is destroying the works of the devil.

    Prayer is rebuking the devil.

    Prayer makes the devil tremble and shake.

    Prayer creates an atmosphere of heaven here on earth.

    Prayer invites the angels to join in.

    Prayer brings God’s kingdom here on earth.

    Prayer is our existence.

    When you pray, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit and when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will enable you to pray without ceasing.

    Do you breathe continuously, or do you breathe occasionally? What happens when you stop breathing? The same thing happens when you stop praying. You may not realise it, but without prayer you become spiritually dead. “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:17-18 NewRSV).

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