Guide
How to pray according to the Bible
What the Bible teaches about prayer: how to do it, when to do it, what to expect, and how Jesus, David, and Paul prayed.
Prayer in the Bible is not a technique. It is a conversation between a person and God. The Bible includes more examples of prayer than instructions about prayer, which suggests that the best way to learn to pray is to watch how the saints prayed.
This guide covers the major biblical teachings on prayer, the most important prayer examples, and the practical questions readers ask: how long, how often, with what words, and what to do when prayer seems unanswered.
How Jesus prayed
Jesus prayed constantly. He withdrew to lonely places to pray. He prayed all night before choosing the twelve. He prayed in Gethsemane before the cross. He taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer as a model. His prayer life was the engine of his ministry.
His prayers were direct, reverent, honest, and trusting. In Gethsemane he asked the Father to remove the cup and then submitted: "Not my will, but thine, be done." This is the pattern for Christian prayer: ask honestly, trust completely.
The Psalms as a prayer book
The Psalms are the Bible's built-in prayer book. They cover every human emotion: praise, lament, anger, gratitude, confusion, repentance, and awe. For two thousand years, Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily.
If you do not know how to pray, start by praying the Psalms. Read one aloud as your own prayer. Let David's words become your words. This is the simplest and most ancient practice of biblical prayer.
Paul's instructions on prayer
Paul told the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing. He told the Philippians to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to let their requests be made known to God. He said the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.
These instructions share a common theme: prayer is continuous, grateful, and Spirit-assisted. It is not a performance. It is a relationship. The Spirit helps when words fail.
When prayer seems unanswered
The Bible does not promise that every prayer will be answered the way the person praying wants. Jesus himself prayed for the cup to pass and it did not. Paul asked three times for a thorn to be removed and was told that grace was sufficient.
The Bible teaches persistence in prayer, trust in God's wisdom, and acceptance of answers that differ from requests. Prayer changes the person praying even when it does not change the circumstances.
Key passages
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
"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."
The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.