All people who believe in God always pray to God. And our prayers are prompted by different reasons and different circumstances. We pray for His guidance and protection, for good health, for blessings, for His forgiveness, and many more.
There are instances that we pray together with the congregation, and in such occasions, we say our prayers aloud. But most of the time, we pray to God alone. Here, we do not say our prayers aloud but we do it silently.
But how should we pray to God rightfully? If you are praying alone, the Lord Jesus Christ gave a recommendation on how to do it.
MATTHEW 6:5-6 (KJV) says,
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
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.
When praying alone, it is better that you pray secretly and unnoticed. The Father does not want us to display ourselves in public while praying, like what other hypocrites are doing. They pray just to show the people that they are praying to God. Theirs is a mere display of superficial piety. They just want to appear holy in the eyes of people who see them. But the Lord Jesus Christ admonished the Christians to “pray unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
How can you pray in secret? Go to a place where nobody can see you praying, and pray to the Father in secret. Pray without uttering a word. How? According to the Apostle Paul, in 1 CORINTHIANS 14:15 (RSV),
What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.
If you pray with your mind, nobody would hear what you are telling God so nobody, not even satan, could interfere. Satan does not see the heart and the mind of man; things that are in the heart and mind of man are unknown to satan. Only the Lord knows what’s in our heart and in our mind.
JEREMIAH 17:9-10 (KJV) says,
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
If you pray with your mind, it would just be a private matter between you and God; only He knows what you are asking for. So satan would not be able to interfere with your supplications. He wouldn’t be able to hinder also the good things that the Father will give you if He is to answer or grant your prayers.
The proper way of praying, if you are doing it alone, is to pray in secret. You do not have to say a word; you don’t have to speak out what’s in your heart and mind because the Father knows the things inside you, even if they are unspoken, or even if you find difficulty in verbalizing them. ROMANS 8:26 (KJV) says,
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
There are groanings that cannot be expressed in words but the Spirit intercedes for us to the Father. The Father knows everything that we need, even if we are not able to express it in words. Our hearts and our minds can be connected to the Father through the intercession of the Holy Spirit of God.
Now, what should be our position in praying?
MATTHEW 26:39 (KJV) says,
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
When the Lord Jesus Christ prayed, He fell on his face. This is what the Catholics and the Protestants do not practice – they do not follow the manner by which our Lord Jesus Christ prayed. Biblically speaking, to kneel down is to bow down one’s head to the ground, prostrating oneself in a horizontal position. It is not the usual bending of knees in 90 degrees, like how the Catholics and other Protestant churches do. Instead, it should be with bended knees, you will prostrate yourself with your face facing the ground.
Other important pointers when praying are given in 1 CORINTHIANS 11:4-5 (KJV), which says,
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
A man is dishonoring his head if he is praying with his head covered. Just like the Indians or the Hindus whose heads are covered with turbans. So, a man should not cover his head when praying.
How about the women?
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
As for the women, when she prays she must cover her head. In order for a woman not
to dishonor her head, she needs to cover it whenever she is praying.
Of course, the “cover” being referred to in the verse does not refer to the literal covering for the head like the multi-colored veils worn by Catholic women on their heads. It refers to something spiritual and something that is very profound which I intend to elaborate on, not in this article, but in the articles to come. God bless!
There are instances that we pray together with the congregation, and in such occasions, we say our prayers aloud. But most of the time, we pray to God alone. Here, we do not say our prayers aloud but we do it silently.
But how should we pray to God rightfully? If you are praying alone, the Lord Jesus Christ gave a recommendation on how to do it.
MATTHEW 6:5-6 (KJV) says,
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
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.
When praying alone, it is better that you pray secretly and unnoticed. The Father does not want us to display ourselves in public while praying, like what other hypocrites are doing. They pray just to show the people that they are praying to God. Theirs is a mere display of superficial piety. They just want to appear holy in the eyes of people who see them. But the Lord Jesus Christ admonished the Christians to “pray unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
How can you pray in secret? Go to a place where nobody can see you praying, and pray to the Father in secret. Pray without uttering a word. How? According to the Apostle Paul, in 1 CORINTHIANS 14:15 (RSV),
What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.
If you pray with your mind, nobody would hear what you are telling God so nobody, not even satan, could interfere. Satan does not see the heart and the mind of man; things that are in the heart and mind of man are unknown to satan. Only the Lord knows what’s in our heart and in our mind.
JEREMIAH 17:9-10 (KJV) says,
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
If you pray with your mind, it would just be a private matter between you and God; only He knows what you are asking for. So satan would not be able to interfere with your supplications. He wouldn’t be able to hinder also the good things that the Father will give you if He is to answer or grant your prayers.
The proper way of praying, if you are doing it alone, is to pray in secret. You do not have to say a word; you don’t have to speak out what’s in your heart and mind because the Father knows the things inside you, even if they are unspoken, or even if you find difficulty in verbalizing them. ROMANS 8:26 (KJV) says,
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
There are groanings that cannot be expressed in words but the Spirit intercedes for us to the Father. The Father knows everything that we need, even if we are not able to express it in words. Our hearts and our minds can be connected to the Father through the intercession of the Holy Spirit of God.
Now, what should be our position in praying?
MATTHEW 26:39 (KJV) says,
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
When the Lord Jesus Christ prayed, He fell on his face. This is what the Catholics and the Protestants do not practice – they do not follow the manner by which our Lord Jesus Christ prayed. Biblically speaking, to kneel down is to bow down one’s head to the ground, prostrating oneself in a horizontal position. It is not the usual bending of knees in 90 degrees, like how the Catholics and other Protestant churches do. Instead, it should be with bended knees, you will prostrate yourself with your face facing the ground.
Other important pointers when praying are given in 1 CORINTHIANS 11:4-5 (KJV), which says,
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
A man is dishonoring his head if he is praying with his head covered. Just like the Indians or the Hindus whose heads are covered with turbans. So, a man should not cover his head when praying.
How about the women?
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
As for the women, when she prays she must cover her head. In order for a woman not
to dishonor her head, she needs to cover it whenever she is praying.
Of course, the “cover” being referred to in the verse does not refer to the literal covering for the head like the multi-colored veils worn by Catholic women on their heads. It refers to something spiritual and something that is very profound which I intend to elaborate on, not in this article, but in the articles to come. God bless!
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