How to Pray According to the Bible

Pray the way Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9–13: speak to God as your Father, honor his name, ask for his will, bring your daily needs, confess your sins, and ask for help against temptation. No special words are required: God wants an honest, trusting heart, not a performance (Matthew 6:5–8).

What did Jesus teach about how to pray?

After watching Jesus pray, his disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). His teaching on prayer in Matthew 6, part of the Sermon on the Mount, starts with what to avoid.

• Matthew 6:6 — “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.” A “closet” was an inner room. Jesus isn’t forbidding public prayer; he is warning against praying to be seen.
• Matthew 6:7–8 — “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” You don’t have to wear God down or find the right formula. He already knows, and he still wants you to ask.
• Luke 18:1 — “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” To “faint” here means to lose heart, the sense of the Greek verb in Luke 18:1. Jesus told the story of a persistent widow so that his followers would keep praying when answers are slow.

How do I use the Lord’s Prayer as a model?

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9–13

“After this manner” means Jesus gave both words to pray and a shape to follow. (Luke 11:2–4 records a shorter version. The closing line of praise isn’t in the oldest manuscripts; Protestants usually pray it, and Catholics, as section 2760 of the Catechism notes, say a similar line at Mass after the Our Father.) Each line opens a part of prayer you can fill with your own words:

1. “Our Father which art in heaven.” Begin with who you are talking to. “Father” is close and personal. “In heaven” reminds you he is greater than your problems.
2. “Hallowed be thy name.” “Hallowed” means honored as holy. Thank God for something true about him before you ask for anything: he is faithful, patient, near.
3. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” Ask for God’s purposes before your own. Jesus prayed this way in Gethsemane: “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
4. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Bring today’s needs, however ordinary: rent, a diagnosis, a hard conversation, strength to get through a shift.
5. “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Confess where you have sinned, and let go of what others owe you. Jesus underlines this right afterward in Matthew 6:14–15.
6. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Ask God to guard you today. Name the places where you are most likely to stumble.

Pray the words exactly, or let each line open into your own. Both are faithful.

Does prayer need special words?

No. Some of the Bible’s shortest prayers are its most honest. The tax collector in one of Jesus’ parables prayed seven words, and Jesus said he “went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:14).

• Luke 18:13 — “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” A “publican” was a tax collector, a man people despised. God heard him because he came humbly, not because he spoke well.
• Psalm 62:8 — “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” The Psalms include complaint, grief, fear, and even anger. God can handle your honesty.
• Philippians 4:6 — “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” “Careful” here means anxious, and “supplication” means earnest asking. Nothing is too small to bring, and thanks belongs with the asking.

ACTS: a simple way to begin when you need structure

ACTS stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. The pattern is a memory aid Christians use, rather than a sequence Scripture requires. You can begin with the part that is most honest today, return to the Lord’s Prayer, or simply ask God for help.

• Adoration: Name something true about God, such as his faithfulness or mercy.
• Confession: Tell God one specific wrong and ask for forgiveness and help to turn from it.
• Thanksgiving: Thank him for one ordinary gift or kindness you noticed today.
• Supplication: Bring a need for yourself or someone else. Asking for daily bread includes concrete needs, such as work, food, and healing.

A few words for each part are enough to start. Written prayers and spontaneous words both belong in Christian prayer; you do not have to graduate from one to the other. If words fail altogether, stay with one line of the Lord’s Prayer instead of forcing yourself through an outline.

How do I build a prayer life that lasts?

1. Pick a time and place. Jesus “withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed” (Luke 5:16). A chair by a window, a walk, or the car before work can become your quiet place.
2. Start small. Five honest minutes a day will serve you better than an hour you can’t keep. If you want a simple pattern, try the five-minute daily devotional.
3. Pray Scripture back to God. Read a psalm, such as Psalm 23 or Psalm 139, slowly and make its words your own.
4. End with a minute of quiet. You aren’t waiting for a voice. You are simply staying with God before the day pulls you away.

Dry seasons don’t mean God has left. Pray shorter prayers, write them down, or pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly each day until words come more easily. When you don’t know what to ask for, you are not praying alone:

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.

Romans 8:26

If grief, depression, or burnout has made prayer feel impossible, tell a pastor or trusted friend, and consider seeing a counselor or doctor as well. This prayer for depression and hopelessness may help you find words.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does God hear every prayer?

God knows every prayer, and Scripture says he is “nigh unto them that are of a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18). The Bible also says we can pray wrongly: James 4:3 warns against asking only to feed our own desires. 1 John 5:14 gives the confidence that God hears when we ask according to his will. Sometimes his answer is yes, sometimes wait, sometimes something better than we asked.

Is it wrong to repeat the same prayer?

No. Jesus warned against “vain repetitions,” meaning empty words said to impress God or wear him down. He didn’t forbid repeating a prayer from the heart. In Gethsemane he prayed a third time, “saying the same words” (Matthew 26:44). Many Christians pray the Lord’s Prayer daily or use set prayers from their church. What matters is meaning what you say.

What posture should I use when I pray?

The Bible shows people praying in many positions. Jesus spoke of standing to pray (Mark 11:25), Paul knelt (Ephesians 3:14), and in Gethsemane Jesus “fell on his face” (Matthew 26:39). No single posture is required. Kneeling or opening your hands can help you focus, but God looks first at a humble, honest heart.

How long should a prayer be?

Prayer has no required length. The Lord’s Prayer takes less than a minute to say, and Peter’s cry of “Lord, save me” was three words. Yet Jesus sometimes “continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Short prayers through the day and longer, unhurried times with God both have a place in a healthy prayer life.

Do I have to pray out loud?

No. When Hannah prayed for a child, “she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard” (1 Samuel 1:13), and God answered her. Silent prayer, whispered prayer, written prayer, and praying aloud with others are all prayer. Some people find that speaking aloud keeps their mind from wandering, so try both and see what helps.