I was talking with a friend recently about praying. He shared that he didn't know how to pray and, as it turned out, he was quite frustrated about it. He has been a Christian for a long time and does not know how to pray. I was quite astounded by this until I thought back to my own prayer life and how it has evolved over time.
My friend had been confused by other well-meaning Christians that had told him conflicting ways about how we should pray. One would say pray this way and another would say pray that way, as if there were some formula or right way to pray. All they did was leave him confused and unsure of how to pray.
I shared with him how I prayed a lot, but my prayers became repeat, or recycled, prayers that I seemed to regurgitate night after night at bedtime. I could say them in my sleep... I think I came close to doing that literally on many occasions! Finally, I realized that my prayer life had become mundane and was only one-way communication from me to God. I was talking, but I was not listening.
Prayer, in its simplest form, is communication between God and us. Just like in marriage, when we listen more than we talk the relationship will be so much better! My prayer life is so much better when I take more time to listen than when I do the talking. I no longer recite memorized prayers that I use over and over again. I may have some of the same requests to take before God, but I have so many things to talk to him about. And I don't just pray at night before bedtime now either. God wants to hear from us continually throughout the day.
If you want to learn how to pray, just ask God! [HINT: If you do that, you have just started a prayer.]
Luke 11:2-4 (NLT) - Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation."