How to Pray When You Do Not Know What to Say
You sit down to pray and the words go flat. It feels performed, or it feels like nothing. The disciples had walked with Jesus every day and still asked him to teach them, so you are in reasonable company. This is his answer.
How to Pray When You Run Out of Words
Almost nobody quits praying on purpose. It thins out. You run out of words, the same four sentences come out every time, and somewhere in there it starts to feel fake, so you do it less. Here is the thing worth knowing before anything else: the men who lived with Jesus, ate with him, watched him pray at dawn, came to him and asked him to teach them how. He did not tell them they should have known by now. He gave them a pattern.
Matthew 6:9-13 breaks cleanly in half. Verses 9 and 10 are vertical, aimed at God. Verses 11 through 13 are horizontal, aimed at your life. The order is the lesson. Hallowed means set apart, holy, unlike anything else, and the Jewish habit of substituting Adonai for the divine name came out of exactly that reverence. Then your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven God’s will is already running without friction. On earth it is not, and you can confirm that in about five minutes. Praying this is asking for heaven to break into the places where it clearly has not yet.
The second half is three asks. Daily bread, which points back to manna in the wilderness, where God deliberately would not let anyone stockpile more than one day at a time because dependence was the point. Forgiveness, which here is not a Christian asking to be saved again but a child asking a father to clear whatever is sitting between them. And deliverance, because there is a real spiritual battle and the honest position is that you do not win it on your own strength.
What most people need is not more sincerity. It is a shape to pour it into. Take one line a day for a week and pray only that line. Your words will come back. Valor Church is an expository, Bible-teaching church in northwest Arvada, Colorado, serving Westminster, Broomfield, Five Parks, and Candelas. Sundays at 8:30 and 10:30 at Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave.
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Go deeper with this message all week.
Seven days of Scripture, reflection, and prayer drawn from this sermon. One a day. Read it in five minutes. Carry it the rest of the day.
Start With Who Is Listening
Matthew 6:9
Before a single request, Jesus starts with the address: our Father in heaven. Both halves matter. Father means you are welcome and wanted. In heaven means he is not your peer and not your assistant. Most flat prayer lives start with a request and never establish who is on the other end. Try opening tomorrow with nothing but who he is. Ask for nothing for sixty seconds.
Prayer
Father, before I ask for anything, let me remember who I am talking to.
Hallowed Means Unlike Anything Else
Isaiah 6:1-5
Hallowed is not filler language. It means set apart, holy, in a category with nothing else in it. Israel would not even say the divine name out loud. Isaiah saw the throne and the first thing he noticed was his own mouth. Reverence is not the enemy of intimacy. It is what makes intimacy mean something, because the one who welcomes you is not small.
Prayer
Lord, let me be honestly amazed at you again.
Your Kingdom, Not Mine
Matthew 6:10
This prayer has a cosmic edge and a personal one. The cosmic part is that Christ’s reign is coming whether you participate or not. The personal part is the harder question: is his kingdom actually your first allegiance, ahead of your country, your family, your plans. Praying this honestly will start rearranging what you give your calendar and your money to.
Prayer
King Jesus, put your kingdom ahead of mine in the order of my week.
Your Will, Even Here
Luke 22:42
In heaven God’s will runs without resistance. On earth it does not. Praying your will be done is asking for heaven to invade the places it clearly has not reached, starting with you. Be careful here, because most of us turn this into a negotiation. A little of your will, Lord, as long as I keep the wheel. Jesus prayed it in a garden with everything on the line and meant every word.
Prayer
Father, not my will. Yours. I mean it, and where I do not, help me.
Enough for Today
Exodus 16:4
God fed Israel with manna they could not store. Take extra and it spoiled, because daily dependence was the whole point. Your daily bread may not be food. It may be steady work, patience with your kids, strength to care for aging parents, the resilience to say no to one more drink. Ask for enough to get through today. Then do it again tomorrow.
Prayer
God, give me exactly what today requires. I will come back tomorrow.
Clear What Is Between Us
1 John 1:9
If you belong to Christ, your standing is settled and nothing removes it. So what is this asking? It is a child with a father, not a defendant with a judge. A kid can be permanently loved and still have something sitting between them until it gets named. Confession is not re-earning your place. It is clearing the air with someone who is not going anywhere.
Prayer
Father, show me what is sitting between us, and let me name it plainly.
You Are Not Fighting Alone
Ephesians 6:18
There is a real battle and you are in it. This line is not a magic ward against temptation. It is asking God to direct your steps, sharpen your discernment, and fight what you cannot fight yourself. Notice how Paul ends the armor of God passage: pray at all times and stay alert. The armor was never yours. Neither is the strength.
Prayer
Lord, I cannot win this on my own. Fight for me and keep me awake.
For your small group, family, or personal reflection.
- When did your prayer life last feel real? What was different about that stretch?
- Do you start your prayers with God or with your list? Notice the order the next three times you pray.
- Which is harder for you to believe: that God hears you, or that he wants to hear from you? Why that one?
- Where are you negotiating with God instead of surrendering, asking for a pinch of his will while keeping the wheel?
- What is your daily bread right now? Name the specific thing you need to get through today.
- Is anything sitting between you and God that you have never actually said out loud to him?
- Where have you been fighting a spiritual battle on your own strength and losing?
Want to work through these with others? Small groups at Valor meet throughout the week. Find a Group
Questions people search for. Here are honest answers.
How do I pray if I do not know what to say?
Are we supposed to recite the Lord’s Prayer word for word?
Does God hear me if I am not living right?
How do I become a Christian step-by-step?
How to know if a church is a good church?
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Sundays at 8:30 and 10:30 in NW Arvada.
Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave. Come as you are. A friendly face will save you a seat.
Arvada, CO 80005
720-507-9246
Arvada, CO 80005
720-507-9246