Prayer is a way of communicating

with God, like talking to a friend.

Many of us find it natural to pray

when we are troubled or anxious,

but to ‘fit’ God into our daily lives

and pray regularly requires some

discipline and determination

Who can pray?
Anyone! Prayer isn’t reserved for those who have attended church for years. You can pray even if you are not sure that God exists.

Here my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble I will call to
you, for you will answer me.
Psalm 86:6‐7

Who do I pray to?
Pray to God. It may seem difficult to talk to someone you can’t see. Remember, God knows more about you than you do. He listens to every word and he loves you more than you can ever imagine.

Who or what do I pray for?
You can pray for anyone you feel needs prayer. You can even pray for yourself and you can pray for whatever you feel you need.

Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for.
Keep on looking, and you will find.
Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7

When you pray, speak as though you were talking
to a friend. If we only wanted to speak to that
friend when we wanted something, then that
would be considered selfish ‐ so build prayer
into your daily life so that you are not always asking
for yourself, but considering the needs of others
in your prayers. You could include praise,
thanks and confession, as well as asking in
your prayers.

Express Praise: Take time just to acknowledge God, his greatness, the love, peace and joy he shares with us. Express to God the facets of his character that havestruck you and amaze you. 

Give Thanks: Never take for granted the little and the big things that God does for us. Try taking some time to write a list of things that you know God has provided you with, then turn this into a prayer of thanks.

Confess: We are all human and we do, say and think things that aren’t pleasing to God. Sometimes we may not even realise that we are at fault, by we need to admit our faults and say sorry. This is admitting that we have a sinful nature and by confessing our sins to God, we can be confident of receiving his forgiveness.

If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselvesand refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
1 John 1:8‐9

Ask: God wants to give good gifts to those who ask him ‐ see Luke 11. God hears our prayers, whether they are for ourselves of for someone else. You may want to pray for a sick relative, a global situation, for an issue at work/home.

Does God always answer prayer?
Sometimes God may answer our prayers immediately. At other times we may need to wait to see an answer (sometimes years!). We have to trust God, believing He knows best, trusting Him to answer our prayers in His time, in His way. God knows what is best and sometimes he answers our prayers in a very different way than we expected and it could be a much better way than we could ever have hoped for.

May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done here on earth,
just as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

What if I am too troubled or anxious to pray?
This is where the church can help. Dave Burke, the Pastor and others on the Leadership Team are there to help. Just ask them to pray with you or for you. Alternatively, you could ask to have your request put on the Prayer Tree and over 30 people in the church will spend time praying confidentially for your request. You may simply want to ask another Christian you know and trust to pray with you.