Session 3: Prayer

Last time we talked about the Bible, how it’s God’s Word, alive and powerful, and how it points us to Jesus.

Quick review: What is the Bible? (God’s Word, His message to us.)

The Bible is how God speaks to us. Does anyone know what it is called when we speak to God?

That’s prayer.

And so, If the Bible is God’s message to us, then prayer is our message back to God. It’s real conversation.”

1. What is Prayer:

Wayne Grudem who is a wise biblical scholar or theologian gives this answer on what prayer is

“prayer is personal communication with God.”

Systematic Theology, Second Edition, Wayne Grudem

And so what does that mean? What does it mean that prayer is a personal Communication with God?

It means that prayer is personal meaning that

Prayer isn’t mechanical or robotic. It is not just a bunch of fancy eloquent words.. You’re not talking to the sky, or throwing words into the air, hoping someone hears.

But… prayer is speaking to a Person — God Himself. Prayer is personal because God is personal.

Prayer is also Communication-

What is the key to all communication? Communication goes two ways. It’s not just us babbling at God; it’s also us listening. Prayer involves pouring out our hearts, but also paying attention to what God says in His Word and through His Spirit.

So at its core, prayer is talking with God — honestly, openly, relationally.

“Think about your best friend. Imagine if you only ever talked to them when you were in trouble or maybe when you needed something like money, or food, but that was the only time you ever talked to them. That would be kinda rude , right? Like, you’d never text them just to say hi, or share something funny, or thank them for being a good friend. You’d only call them up when you needed a ride or wanted money. That wouldn’t be much of a friendship. Theyd be using you for you stuff, which is not a good friend.

You see, Sometimes, that’s how we treat God. That sometimes what we think prayer is or does, that we can twist Gods arm to get whatever we want, We only pray or talk to God when life is falling apart.

But if prayer is communication, then it’s about all of life, not just emergencies. It’s thanking Him, praising Him, confessing to Him, and asking Him for help. That’s a real relationship.”

Prayer is genuine conversation, between myself or you and God.

And so i want you guys to know that Prayer isn’t just asking for stuff. But It’s a relationship.

It includes praise, confession, thanksgiving, and requests.

Awhile ago we talked about how god created the universe and he created humans in his image, and he did that so he could have a realtionship with us, even more beatiful so that we could have a relationship with the living God.

God wants a real rerlationship with each and everyone one of us, and it starts with prayer, it starts with talking to God.

So what is prayer? prayer is: personal communication with God.

2. WHY DOES GOD WANT US TO PRAY?

“Okay, so we’ve seen what prayer is: personal communication with God. Now let’s ask the next big question: Why does God even want us to pray?

If God already knows everything — our needs, our thoughts, even the words on our lips before we speak them — then why pray? Couldn’t God just do everything without us asking?

That’s a really fair question. And here’s Wayne Grudem’s answer:

‘God wants us to pray because prayer expresses our trust in God and is a means whereby our trust in Him can increase.’

Let’s slow down and unpack that.”

A. Prayer Expresses Our Trust in God

“When you pray, you’re admitting something: you don’t have it all together. You recognize the fact that you need God, whuch we all need God, we all are weak and are limited. You don’t have all the answers. You don’t have all the strength.

And so… Every prayer, no matter how small, is like saying: ‘God, I need You.’

When you pray for wisdom, you’re saying, ‘God, I don’t know what to do ; I trust that You do.’

When you pray for God to proivide, you’re saying, ‘God, I can’t meet this need on my own — I trust that You will.’

When you pray for forgiveness, you’re saying, ‘God, I can’t fix my sin problem — I trust that Jesus already has.’

So prayer is really an act of faith. Every time you pray, you’re leaning on God instead of yourself.”

“Imagine a little kid trying to carry a huge box that’s way too heavy. He’s straining, stumbling, almost dropping it. Finally he looks up at his dad and says, ‘Can you help me?’ That’s prayer. It’s letting go of our pride and saying, ‘God, this is too much for me — I trust You. and more importanlty i need you!

Every time we pray, we’re admitting our weakness and trusting in God’s strength.”

B. Prayer Grows Our Trust in God

“But Grudem doesn’t stop there. He also says prayer is the way our trust in God increases.

Think about it: the more you pray, the more you see God answer. And the more you see God answer, the more your faith grows.

It’s kind of like exercise. The more you work out, the stronger your muscles get. The more you pray, the stronger your trust gets.”

Scripture connection: “Philippians 4:6–7

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

When you pray, you’re handing your anxiety, your worries to God. And what does He give you in return? Peace. Not always immediate answers, not always everything you want — but peace.

And the more you experience that peace, the more you learn to trust Him.”

C. Jesus Modeled Trust Through Prayer

“And of course, Jesus Himself modeled this. Even though He was the Son of God (God in himan flesh), He prayed constantly. Why? To show His trust in the Father.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, before His arrest, Jesus prayed, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done.’ (Luke 22:42) That’s ultimate trust.

In John 17, He prayed for His disciples and for us, showing dependence on the Father’s care.

Even on the cross, Jesus prayed: ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’

If Jesus Himself expressed His trust through prayer, how much more should we?”

Summary of Section

“So why does God want us to pray? Because prayer shows that we depend on Him. It’s us saying, ‘God, I need You.’ And over time, prayer grows our trust, because we see Him answer, we experience His peace, and we learn He really is faithful.

Prayer isn’t for God’s benefit — it’s for ours. It’s not like God needs our updates. He already knows. But He wants us to grow closer to Him, to depend on Him more deeply, to trust Him more fully. That’s why He invites us to pray.”

3. Who Do We Pray To?

“Alright, so we know what prayer is, and why God wants us to pray. But here’s another really important question: who do we actually pray to?

The Bible gives us a really clear answer: when we pray,

we pray to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.

Let’s unpack that.”

A. We Pray to the Father

“When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6, He started with these words:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…’

For the people in this time this was mind boggling. In the Old Testament, God was called holy, mighty, the Lord of Hosts — and He is all those things. But Jesus said, when you pray, you get to call Him Father.

That means prayer isn’t just talking to some distant ruler; it’s talking to your perfect Dad, or Father in heaven. A Dad who actually loves you, who really listens to you, and a father who wants such good things for you!

This is why Christians pray, ‘Heavenly Father.’ It’s not just a title — it’s a reminder that we belong to Him as His children.”

We call God 'Father' in prayer to signify a relationship of intimate trust, provision, and authority,

Because of Jesus, we have direct access to our Father in heaven.”

B. We Pray Through the Son

“Now, even though God is our Father, we don’t come to Him on our own. We come through Jesus.

In John 14:13–14, Jesus said:

John 14:13–14 NLT

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

That phrase — ‘in My name’ — doesn’t mean we tack on ‘in Jesus’ name, Amen’ like a magic formula.

Q: What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name?

It means we’re praying based on who Jesus is and what He’s done. We pray that Gods will would be done not our own, meaning we pray that God’s purpose would be fulfilled not our own.

Here’s the reality: we’re sinners. On our own, we don’t deserve to come into God’s presence. But because Jesus died for us and rose again, our sins are forgiven, and the way to the Father is open. That’s why we can pray with confidence — because Jesus is our mediator, the one who stands between us and God.”

One of my favorite verse in the bible is

Hebrews 4:16 NLT

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Because of Jesus we can boldy apprach the throne of God, and talk with him.We pray through Jesus the Son.

C. We Pray in the Spirit

“Finally, the Bible says we pray in the Spirit. Romans 8:26 tells us:

Romans 8:26 NIV

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Sometimes, we don’t even know what to pray. We’re overwhelmed, confused, or hurting too much to put it into words. But the Holy Spirit helps us. He prays for us. He takes our broken words, our sighs, even our silence, and carries them perfectly to the Father. Or maybe you say something in your prayer that you didnt mean, or maybe you thought aboiut praying for soemthing but didnt. one of the most beatriful things about bprayer is that The Holy spirit , God knows what you are going to

So prayer is Trinitarian — Father, Son, Spirit.

We pray to the Father,

through the access of the Son,

with the help of the Spirit.”

D. Jesus Modeled This

“Even Jesus Himself modeled praying to the Father. In John 17, often called the ‘High Priestly Prayer,’ Jesus prayed:

‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You…’

He prayed for His disciples, for future believers (that’s us!), and for God’s glory. He always prayed to the Father, and He always trusted the Father to hear.

So when we pray, we’re following the example of Jesus — the Son praying to the Father in the Spirit.”

Summary of Section

“So who do we pray to?

We pray to the Father — because He loves us as His children.

We pray through the Son — because Jesus gives us access by His blood.

We pray in the Spirit — because the Spirit helps us when we’re weak.

That’s what makes Christian prayer different from every other kind of prayer in the world. We’re not just sending words into the sky — we’re speaking to our Father, with the help of the Son and the Spirit.”

What Do We Pray About?

“So now that we know who we’re praying to — our Father in heaven, through Jesus, with the Spirit’s help — here’s the next question: what do we actually pray about?

The short answer? Everything.

Philippians 4:6 says:

Philippians 4:6 NASB 2020

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Notice those two words: anything and everything. That’s a pretty wide range, right?

Don’t worry about anything.

Instead, pray about everything.

That means there is nothing too small, nothing too big, nothing too weird, and nothing too ordinary to bring to God in prayer. If it matters to you, it matters to Him.”

Through the Bible we see that these are things that Jesus wants us to pray for.

A. Daily Needs

“In the Lord’s Prayer in (Matthew 6:11)

Matthew 6:11 NASB 2020

‘Give us this day our daily bread.

That doesn’t just mean food. It means we can bring all our everyday needs to God — food, money, health, strength, even the little things like getting through a hard class or needing energy for the day.

God cares about our daily lives. He doesn’t just care about the ‘spiritual stuff’ like church or Bible reading — He cares about your real life. School, family, friendships, struggles.

Lots of the time when i come to the youth Centre, i pray that God would give me strength an eneryg to be able to get through the day, to be able to hang oput with you guys and have fun with you guys, it is God’s strenght that allows me to do this evryday, if it wasnt for him i would burn out.

So one thing to pray about is your daily needs.”

B. Forgiveness & Sin

“Jesus also said in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt 6:12

Matthew 6:12 NASB 2020

‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Prayer is where we come clean before God. When we sin, when we fail, we don’t need to hide it — we bring it to Him.

1 John 1:9 says,

1 John 1:9 NIV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

So prayer is a place of confession. It’s how we admit where we’ve gone wrong and receive God’s forgiveness again and again.”

Because the reality is God, already knows what you did,He knows the sins you have commited and the sins you will commit, so confess your sins to him, and you will be forgiven.

C. Help Against Temptation

“Jesus also taught us to pray, Matt 6:13

Matthew 6:13 NASB 2020

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

That means we can ask God to help us fight sin before we even fall into it. Prayer isn’t just looking back and confessing, But It is also looking forward and asking for strength.

When you know you’re walking into a hard situation. If there is a temptation you often struggle with you can pray, ‘God, help me stand strong. Deliver me from this temptation.’

Jesus Himself modeled this in Gethsemane: Matthew 26:41)

Matthew 26:41 NASB 2020

Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

D. Thanksgiving

“Paul also says in Philippians 4:6 that our prayers should include thanksgiving.

It’s easy to only ask God for stuff. But part of prayer is stopping to say thank You. Thank You for answered prayers, for blessings, for life itself.

Sometimes the best way to grow in prayer is to spend less time asking and more time thanking. When you thank God, your eyes open to see how much He’s already doing.”

If you guys think lots of you are already more wealtyh than most people ever will be across the world, you have phones, shoes, shirts, houses, clean water to drink, air to breath, school to learn, there are people around the world that would do anything to go to school, they would do anytthing just to be able to have one little sip of water. and so be thankful for what God has given you.

E. Worship & Praise

“Prayer isn’t just about needs or confessing sin or thanks. It’s also about worship — Praisiing God for who He is.

In the Psalms, David prayed things like: (Psalm 145:1

Psalm 145:1 NIV

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Praise in prayer reminds us of who God is and lifts our hearts higher. It’s like hitting the reset button on our perspective. Instead of being stuck in our problems, we remember how great God is.”

F. For Others

“Prayer isn’t just about me. It’s also about we. It is more than just our needs, but it is also about the needs of others.

Jesus prayed for His disciples and for all future believers in John 17. Paul constantly prayed for the churches he wrote to.

So prayer should include intercession — praying for others. Your family, your friends, your youth group, even people around the world you’ve never met.

This keeps our prayers from becoming self-centered. We’re invited to carry others to God’s throne in prayer.”

Illustration:

I want you guys to know that we pray for you guys, me and Belinda pray everyday before you guys come for each of you, that you would come to knoiw God, and even greater than that, we have prayer letters that go out every month, and people from all over Cananda pray for you guys!

Summary of Section

“So what do we pray about?

Our daily needs

Our sins and forgiveness

Help against temptation

Thanks for God’s blessings

Praise for who God is

And prayers for others

Basically, we can pray about everything. God cares about it all.

And the more we pray, the more we realize that no problem is too small for God’s care, and no problem is too big for His power.”

5. When Do We Pray?

“Okay, so we know what prayer is, why God wants us to pray, who we pray to, and what we can pray about. Now here’s the next question: when do we pray?

The simple answer? All the time.

Let’s look at Scripture.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says: ‘Pray without ceasing.’

Now, what does that mean? It doesn’t mean you walk around with your eyes closed, mumbling prayers all day. That would be… dangerous It means prayer should be part of the rhythm of your whole life.” We should be in constant communication with God.

Summary of Section

“So when do we pray? All the time.

Prayer isn’t just a scheduled event. It’s a lifestyle.”

6. Where Do We Pray?

Now here’s the last practical question: where do we pray?

Do we have to be in a church building? Do we have to fold our hands, bow our heads, and close our eyes? Or can we pray anywhere?”

A. Private Prayer

“Jesus actually addressed this in Matthew 6:6. He said:

Matthew 6:6 NASB 2020

But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Jesus wasn’t saying you can only pray in your room. But He was teaching that prayer isn’t about showing off. It’s not about impressing other people. It’s about connecting with God.

Private prayer is where you can be real with God — no filters, no performance. Just honesty before your Father.”

B. Public Prayer

“At the same time, the Bible also shows people praying together in public.

Jesus prayed aloud when He fed the 5,000.

Paul prayed for others in his letters.

So prayer is both private and public. It’s good to pray alone, and it’s good to pray with others. Both matter.”

C. Everywhere Prayer

“But here’s the big point: you can pray anywhere.

In the car on the way to school.

In the locker room before a game.

In your room before bed.

On the walk to the Youth Centre or from school

Even silently in your head during class.

Because God is everywhere, prayer can happen everywhere.”

D. Jesus Modeled This

“Once again, Jesus modeled this.

He prayed on mountains (Luke 6:12).

He prayed in gardens (Luke 22:39–41).

He prayed in crowds (John 11:41–42).

He prayed on the cross (Luke 23:34, 46).

Everywhere He went, He prayed.

So if you’ve ever wondered, ‘Where should I pray?’ the answer is simple: wherever you are.”

Summary of Section

“So where do we pray? Anywhere and everywhere.

In private, honestly before God.

In public, together with His people.

And everywhere, because God is always with us.”

Conclusion & Wrap-Up

“Let’s pull this all together.

Prayer is not complicated. It’s not a ritual. It’s not about performance. It’s about relationship.

What is prayer? Personal communication with God.

Why does God want us to pray? Because it expresses and grows our trust in Him.

Who do we pray to? The Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.

What do we pray about? Everything — needs, sin, thanksgiving, praise, intercession.

When do we pray? Always — in set times and ongoing conversations.

Where do we pray? Anywhere — because God is everywhere.

And in all of this, Jesus modeled prayer for us. He prayed to the Father, He prayed often, He prayed everywhere. If Jesus needed prayer, how much more do we?”

Challenge

“So here’s the challenge for you this week: Take 5 minutes each day to pray using the ACTS model:

Adoration — praise God for who He is.

Confession — admit your sin.

Thanksgiving — thank Him for blessings.

Supplication — ask Him for help.

Five minutes. That’s it. But it can grow your relationship with God in huge ways.”

Closing Prayer

“Let’s end by praying together right now. I’ll model ACTS for us.

Father, we praise You because You are holy, powerful, and loving. We confess that we don’t always pray like we should, and we often try to live without You. Thank You for forgiving us through Jesus and for hearing our prayers. And now we ask: teach us to pray. Help us trust You more, love You more, and depend on You more this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”