Prayer is a very special privilege reserved only for those who are God’s children.  To take full advantage of this wonderful blessing, we must learn to pray correctly.  Fortunately for us, we have the greatest authority on prayer to teach us how to do it right.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us instructions on how to pray properly.

Matthew 6:9 (ESV)
⁹  Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Our prayers must always begin with the right attitude, that is, having the proper reverence for God.  The word “hallowed” means, “to make holy” or “to venerate.”  To venerate means to “regard with reverential respect.”  Every time we pray, this must be our mindset.  We do not have to utter specific words.  We do not have to begin every prayer by saying, “hallowed be your name.”  Jesus is just giving us an example of praying to God with proper respect.  If we do not do that, our prayer is useless.  God demands and deserves our reverence.

Focus is also an important element in our prayers.  We must find a place where we can be alone with God and able to concentrate on nothing except the prayer that we are praying.

Matthew 6:6 (ESV)
⁶  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This has been referred to as “the prayer closet” because the KJV uses the “closet” instead of “room.”  The point is clear, however, because it is obvious that Jesus is not referring to a specific place, but to somewhere where we can be isolated and undisturbed.  Jesus knew the value of praying in such places because it was His practice to do so.

Mark 1:35 (ESV)
³⁵  And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Every day we should find our place of isolation, away from the children, the T.V., or anything else that might distract us, and spend time alone with God.  That is the right way to pray.

Finally, every time we pray, we must remember that the true power of prayer is God.

Matthew 6:7 (ESV)
⁷  “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

To think that long-worded prayers are somehow more effective than others is to place the power of prayer in ourselves instead of God.  The KJV refers to “vain repetitions.”  Many religions have practices that involve saying certain phases over and over again.  That is a violation of what Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is the wrong way to pray because it does not give glory to God.  We honor God when we realize that our prayers do not have to be filled with many words or uttered with perfect grammatical structure because the power of prayer lies with God, not us.

So, how do we pray the right way?  First, we do so by recognizing the greatness of our God to whom we pray.  Then, finding a place where we will not be interrupted and can just focus on our conversation with our Creator.  And, finally, do not worry about praying the perfect prayer, but realize that the power of our prayers is not our own.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.