What is Prayer?

Prayer is talking with God.  When we have a good friend, we talk to the person about all sorts of things.  That's part of being a friend.  IN the same way, we should talk to God about what is happening in our life.  God wants us to share our life with Him, to tell Him about what makes us happy, sad, afraid, and so on.  He wants to know what we want and what we would like Him to do, for ourself and for others.  Also, when we pray, we open ourself up to God so that He can make good changes in us.

KEY VERSES:  Philippians 4:6-7

What is Prayer for?

The purpose of prayer is for us to get closer to God.  When we tell God that we are sorry for our sins, that Him for all He has done, and ask for help, God begins to change us.  He changes our thoughts and desiresm and He shows us what He wants us to do.  We come to love Him more and to see things from His point of view.  Also, prayer give us an opportunity to say, "Your will be done."  It is a way for us to work with God to change the world.  Think about it this way:  God is our Father.  He loves us and wants to meet our needs, to teach us how to live, to take care of us, and to use us.  We pray because it invites our loving Father to work in our lives and in our world.

KEY VERSES:  John 16:24

When we're bad, can we still pray?

A person can pray at any time and in any need.  When people do bad things or make mistakes, they need God more than at any other time.  When we do something wrong, we need to talk to God about it.  We need to admit that what we did was wrong, say that we're sorry, and ask Him to forgive us.  That is the first thing we should pray when we do something bad.  Then God can help us learn so that we can do better the next time.  God knows we are not perfect, and He wants to help us by giving us wisdom and helping us change.

If we wait until we are good enough to pray, we will never pray.

KEY VERSES:  Luke 18:13-14

Who is not allowed to pray?

No one is so bad that he or she is not allowed to pray.  God is always willing to accept the person who comes and asks for forgiveness.  God does not ban people from praying.

Some people have turned away from God so much that they never pray.  They do not pray because they don't feel any need to pray and don't want to.

Are there are prayers that God does not welcome?  Yes.  God does not welcome the prayers of people who disobey Him all the time and are happy about it.  (They may even brag about their sins.)  When these people pray, they do not really mean to have a relationship with God.  Instead, they just go through the motions.  Prayers from people like that are just empty words.  The first real prayer that God wants to hear from them is I have sinned.  I was wrong.  I am sorry.  Please forgive me.

KEY VERSES:  Proverbs 15:29

Why did Jesus say we should pray the Lord’s Prayer?

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, Jesus gave them the Lord’s Prayer. It is a sample prayer that shows how we should pray. In other words, it is a guide and an example, not the exact words we must say every time. It shows us a good way to pray and some good topics to pray about.

For example, it tells us that we should ask God to meet our needs. It shows us that we should pray for God’s Will to be done in everything that happens. And it tells us to pray that we will be strong and resist temptation. It is always good to pray that way. And it is okay for us to use our own words when we do.

KEY VERSES:  Luke 11:1-4

How does God feel when we pray?

God is very happy when we pray.  The Bible makes it clear that God is glad to hear from us and rejoices over us.  He loves us and wants us to love Him.  So God is delighted when we come before Him, just as a loving father is happy when his children come to him.  The father welcomes his children with open arms and listens carefully to everything they say becausehe loves them so much.

KEY VERSES:  Proverbs 15:8

Does how we pray matter?

Yes. We should pray sincerely, secretly, and respectfully.

To pray sincerely means to pray in plain words that say just what we mean to say. It means we do not try to use fake language or fancy words. We tell God whatever is on our mind in the words that we would normally use, because He loves us and knows and wants to care for us.

To pray secretly means to make a habit of praying alone—some people call it quiet time. It means we take time out of our every day to talk to God all by ourselves. We do not limit our prayers to church, meals, or bedtime.

To pray respectfully means to treat God as God. It means we do not make light of prayer or act silly. We are talking to God, the maker of all creation, the Lord of the universe, and the King of kings, so we show Him respect and honor.

KEY VERSE:  Psalm 51:17


Can God help us pray?

Yes. Many times we want to talk with God but just don’t know what to say or how to put our feelings into words. The Holy Spirit can help us think of the right words and say them. But even if we still don’t know what to say, God knows what we are feeling and thinking. He knows that we sincerely want to talk with Him, and he understands what we would say if we could.

KEY VERSES:  Romans 8:26-27


Can’t we pray anywhere?

Yes, we can pray anywhere. Prayers do not have to be spoken aloud, so we can pray while we are sitting at a desk with our eyes wide open, or anywhere else. We can pray silently because God knows our thoughts. We can pray in school, on the playground, at basketball practice, in a choir concert, in church, at home on vacation—anywhere! God is glad when we ask Him for help right when and where we need it.

KEY VERSE:  Ephesians 6:18

Does God listen to any prayer, big or small?

Yes, God listens to all prayers, no matter how big or small they are.  In the Bible, Nehemiah prayed that he would say the right words when he talked to the king one day.  Solomon prayed for wisdom.  Hannah prayed for a child.  Each one of these people prayed for something that mattered to him or her.  It did not matter whether the prayer was big or small.  They just brought their cares to God.

That is what God wants us to do.  The important question is, what is on our mind?  What do we care about?  God will listen to any prayer if it is sincere.

KEY VERSES:  1 Peter 5:7

Why do we say "Amen" when we are done praying?

Amen means "So be it" or "It is true".  It is simply a way of closing a prayer.  We close letters with a similar word, sincerely.  Amen means that we have said when we mean and believe that God has heard our prayer.

To say amen - "So be it" - is a way of saying that we trust God to answer.  It reminds us that God has everything under control.

KEY VERSES:  Psalm 106:48

What happens if we don't pray at all?

People who don't pray at all grow distant from God, like friends who grow appart because they never talk to each other.  Friends keep their friendship close by talking with each other.  People who never talk to each other become almost like strangers.

Also, people who do not pray miss out on God's help.  It is the people who call out to God who get to see God work most.  They see Him change things and people in awesome ways.  They learn things they could not have learned on their own.  People who do not pray cut themselves off from this special part of God's plan.

We need to stay close to God, and we need His power.  Prayer meets those needs.

KEY VERSES:  Luke 11:9

What does "praying continually" mean?

When the Bible talks about praying continually, it means always being ready to pray.  In means checking in with God throughout the day.  It means that our first response when something happens is to pray.  When something bad happens, we ask for help.  When something goo happens, we thank God.  When we do not know what to do, we ask God to give us wisdom.  It means to talk Him as a loving father who is always around.

Whe you think about it, it makes perfect sense.  God IS our loving Father who is always around!

KEY VERSES:  1 Thessalonians 5:17

Can we ask God to help us pass a test?

We can ask God to help us on a test because we can talk with God about anything.  But God expects us to do our best at whatever we do.  We go to school and work  as part of His plan to grow us into adults.  It is true that we rely on God for strength, wisdom and life.  But that is not the same asking God to live our lives for us.

We should do our duty as students.  We should study for tests and do what the teachers says.  Then we should pray and ask God to give us a clear mind to take the test as well as we can, to help us relax, and to remember what we have studied.

God is merciful, and He does help us.  But it helps to study for the test more than to pray for God to rescue us from a lack of studying.  We can ask God to help us study.

KEY VERSES:  Colossians 3:23-24

Why do we ask Jesus into our heart?

When we say hearts, we mean the part of us that decides everything.  So when someone says that we ought to ask Jesus into our heart, the person means that we should ask Jesus to be our Saviour, to forgive our sins, and to take care of us.  That is how a person becomes a Christian.  When we do this, the Holy Spirit really does come and live inside us.  Then we have Him with us all the time.

KEY VERSES:  Ephesians 3:17

Do we have to pray to be forgiven?

Whenever we ask God to forgive uys, He forgives us.  That is what the word confession means.  It means that we tell God what we have done, agree with Him that it is wrong, and ask Him to forgive us.  Because only God can forgive sins, we need to confess them to Him in order to be truly forgiven.  And we have His promise that He will always forgive if we come to Him truly sorry for what we have done.

KEY VERSES:  1 John 1:9

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** These questions and answers are provided from the book 801 Questions Kids Ask About God—with Answers from the Bible, by Heritage Builders, a ministry of Focus on the Family, For All Ages.  Copyright 2000 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Used by Permission.