Devo: Teach us to pray

In this devotion, music teacher Rachel Andersen shares some insights on the benefit of prayer, how to pray, and what to pray for.

BY Hannah Buchholz

Written by Rachel Andersen, adapted from her 2023 chapel message

Have you ever heard someone described as a “prayer warrior?” Prayer warriors are people who spend hours pouring their hearts out to God, interceding on behalf of others, and pray beautiful, eloquent prayers with no preparation. It’s like a natural talent or maybe a spiritual gift. It’s an incredible thing, and it’s a thing I do not have. I don’t mean that I don’t pray; I do. I’ve been in the habit of daily prayer since I was little. But even now, decades later, it’s not necessarily a natural instinct. I still have to remind myself to pray every day. And don’t expect to hear any eloquent public prayers from me. I think I’m physically incapable of that.

If you are one of the people blessed with a naturally rich prayer life, then thanks be to God! But here’s the thing: Prayer is a gift for all Christians, not just prayer warriors. So if you’re like me, take heart. We can do this. We just need a little extra help.

In my quest to understand prayer, I’ve been searching the Scriptures and underlining every reference to it. I’m not done yet, but what I’ve learned so far helps answer some questions, like:

Who should I pray to?
What does prayer do?
What should I pray for?

Who should I pray to?

We pray directly to God because He hears us. (Ephesians 2:18, Exodus 2:23-25, John 16:26-27)

The first question I wanted to answer is, “Who? Who should I pray to?” We get to pray directly to God. We get so used to that idea that it can lose its impact. In both the Old and the New Testaments, we see that God is so holy and we are so sinful that we can’t stand in His presence on our own and survive. We would literally die. But, because Jesus took our sin and covered us in His righteousness, we not only have the option to communicate directly with God—He expects us to. He’s glad to hear from us.

What does prayer do?

I think one of the reasons prayer has been difficult for me is that I just didn’t get what it is. What’s the point of talking to God? He already knows everything. He is wisdom personified, so He doesn’t need my advice on how to do His job. And yet, it is true that, for some reason, I’m supposed to ask Him for things. So here’s a (very incomplete ) list to answer the question: What even is prayer?

Prayer gets God’s attention. (1 Samuel 9:16)
Prayer can change God’s mind. (Exodus 32:11-14)
Prayer is a way to help others. (2 Corinthians 1:11)
Prayer is work. (Colossians 4:12)
Prayer is how we remain watchful. (Colossians 4:2)

What should I pray for?

Faith (Mark 9:23-24)
God’s Mercy (Luke 18:13-14)
Wisdom (James 1:5-6)
Those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44-45)
Those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
Other Christians (Ephesians 6:18b-19, 1 John 5:16)
Laborers for the Gospel (Matthew 9:36-38)

What about when I don’t know what to pray?

Pray anyway. I’ve gone through some incredibly painful life experiences in the last couple of years, and there have been many, many times when I didn’t even know what to ask for. At those times, Mary, the mother of Jesus, inspired me. Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding. Interestingly, it was Mary who brought the lack of wine to His attention.

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” (John 2:1-3)

All she did was present the problem to Jesus. She didn’t ask Him to do anything, she just trusted that He heard her and would to whatever was best. It’s ok to just tell God what the problem is. He’s big enough to come up with a solution on His own.

I’m still not sure how to get started. Are there any models?

Yes! I’ll share three examples with you.

Wolfmueller’s Worry Prayer

I like to call the first one “Wolfmueller’s Worry Prayer.” Pastor Brian Wolfmueller suggests using worry as a reminder to pray. If you’re like me, you’re pretty much always worried about something. Let’s take each of those anxieties and turn them into short little prayers throughout the day! Pr. Wolfmueller also suggests starting longer times of prayer by doing an anxiety dump. Just tell God everything that’s stressing you out the most, and then your head will be clearer and it will be easier to pray for other people.

Written Prayers

Written prayers are good! The book of Psalms is a giant collection of written prayers that Christians have been praying ever since it was written. Prayer books can also be really helpful. And of course, who better to teach us about prayer than Jesus Himself? Turns out, even His disciples struggled with prayer, so non-prayer warriors: we’re in good company. They asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and He taught them what became known as the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Luther’s 10 Commandments Prayer

Martin Luther apparently had great theological conversations all the time, including when he was getting his hair cut. His barber, as it turns out, was not a prayer warrior and asked Luther for advice on prayer. He spent some time thinking about it and wrote a letter in response. In the letter, he encouraged his barber to go through three steps for each of the 10 Commandments.

Step 1) Thank God for something related to the Commandment.
Step 2) Confess how you’ve broken that Commandment.
Step 3) As God for something related to that Commandment.

I’ve found this model to be tremendously helpful in my prayer life. I’d like to invite you to add it to your devotional life this Lenten season. Below you’ll find the 10 Commandments with their explanations from Luther’s Small Catechism to help you get started.

1st Commandment

You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.