Don’t be put off by the formal prayers you hear in church. Prayer is simply talking to God. If you are upset with life, say that to God. 

When we think of prayer, sometimes what think about are the carefully crafted prayers we hear in church and see in prayer books. You know the type of thing I mean. These are prayers with carefully thought-out structures, references and echoes from all kinds of different Bible passages, with confession and thanksgiving and prayer all included. Prayers that start like this: “O Heavenly Father, you who are the creator and sustainer of all things, omnipotent and omnipresent, before all time and the one who sits on the throne, praise to you.”

There is a time and place for formal, planned prayers. It is not like they are bad. They can be good models to follow in some instances, encouraging us to be thoughtful when we talk to God.

Prayer doesn’t need to be that formal. In fact, it shouldn’t always be that formal. We are God’s children if we trust in Jesus, and this means we can speak directly to God the Father through Jesus Christ. We don’t need to frame our prayers perfectly for God to hear us. He hears us even if we pray simply and plainly (Matt 6:8).

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