If you fall into the category of “I don’t know how to pray” or praying doesn’t do any good… read on.

Prayers do not have to be formal or like you see in church with all the formality.

Prayers are yours and can/should be said in your words and in your way.

Here are just a few thoughts to help get you started.

Prayers should always come from a place of gratitude within you and never from a place of anger. Negativity, anger, and anything less than positive are only serving as blocks to raising your prayers to their highest level. Thereby making them the most effective.

Ground yourself to Mother Earth first. This just means to feel your connection to the ground and nature. This can help you focus and get rid of the day-to-day clutter in your thinking.

Feel the feeling of being humble. Being giving. Being positive. Being loving.

Feel this feeling flushing over you as the negative world falls away. Become calmer. Take a moment doing this if you need to. Remember, be loving, be loving, be loving.

To help this along, start thinking about those things you ARE grateful for no matter how small they may be. They can be on any topic.

Offer these thoughts of gratitude toward whatever you believe is outside yourself. What you see as a higher source. Some pray to the Lord, some to God, some to whatever name they give.

For example, I thank the Lord for the awareness of Him. For His sacrifice for me on the Cross. For ensuring me and forgiving me my sins. For His unconditional love of me. This always puts me in a good mood and a mood of gratitude.

Ask in your prayer, do not demand. A prayer is a request for assistance. Be humble. This is why people bow their heads or get down on their knees. It is a sign of respect for a power far greater than your own. It is a sign of humility.

Prayer have no minimum or maximum length. Prayer have no specific language (or code) that needs to be spoken. Prayers are between you and what you see as your higher source outside yourself. (I put it this way because I take from my Boy Scout leadership days that all they required was that you believe in something outside yourself… they did not make you define what that was).

If you feel you received an answer or support in any way, be sure to give thanks for the answer.

Know that you can pray at any time. You do not need to be in a church or some religious place. God is with you always. To receive any help you must ask. That is a prayer. 

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Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For everyone that sketch receiveth; and he that seeketh finders; and to him that knocketh it shall be open.

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This is all about being “open.” Being receptive and knowing you have help. If you are angry, negative, or in lower energy you are blocking this  support… or/and not truly seeing the answers to your prayers. Understand that answers to prayers can come in many different forms. Being open to them is our job. A new acquaintance in our lives. A passing comment from someone (anyone) that sparks a thought within us. An opportunity – which we must recognize as an answer to prayer or not.

Pray often. There is no limit. Get connected with the Lord (or what you see as your higher power). Feel the connection.  Develop a relationship with the Lord over time. Your relationship will be just that, your relationship. No one can tell you what it is or should be. Only you will know through your heart.

Allow your heart to be your guide. You will know what feels good and true. Everything good comes from a position of love, caring, and benevolence. 

Remember to give thanks and often.