5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:5-13
Spiritual Habits: Praying
This week, we continued on the second sub topic of the Spiritual Habits series: Praying.
From previous lessons, we learned that the act of praying is equated to having a conversation with God. However, how should we pray? What should we pray about and how often should we pray?
We dug deep and discussed each of these questions!
How should we pray?
Although the power of intercessory group praying is very strong, we also learned that at times, in order to get at the most personal level with God, we should also practice praying quietly and alone in a humble manner. However, at times, many take advantage of it and use it as a way of announcing a righteous image for the purpose of gaining acknowledgement from the public, just as the pharisees did. It is important that we be really mindful of what our motives and intentions are when we show an act of prayer, especially in the view of others.
What should we pray about?
We explored an easy method that will help us to ensure that we are praying about the right things on a daily basis.
It goes by a simple acronym of “ACTS”:
A – Adoration – Give God praise and honor for who He is as Lord over all!
C – Confession – Honestly and genuinely acknowledge and repent the sin in your life
T – Thanksgiving – Express in words what you’re grateful for in your life and in the world around you!
S – Supplication – Pray for the needs of others and yourself!
By memorizing this acronym, we are able to ensure that we converse with God, touching on all important notes, rather than bombarding God with only our desires and wants all the time, as most of us tend to do.
How often should we pray?
1 Thessalonians 5:17 reads that we should pray continuously. The students learned that praying continuously is an act of proof that we acknowledge God is constantly needed in our lives and that we need to talk to him daily just in the same way we need our parents and their continuous guidance in our life.
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