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You know you should pray.  You even want to pray, but you go to actually pray and you don’t know what to pray for.  Sound familiar? It happens to all of us.  I’ve been a follower for Jesus for over ten years and I still run into “dud-moments” when I go to pray sometimes. Good news, friend! The Bible has a solution for us.  (It’s so good at having solutions for our problems, isn’t it? 😉 )

All throughout Scripture, and particularly in the New Testament, we see examples of Christians praying for all types of things. Those prayers reveal several themes we should regularly be praying about to have a healthy prayer life…and that will help us know how to pray when we’re struggling to know what exactly to pray about.

When you’re stuck in prayer, and even when you’re not, you can always:

1. Praise God for His character

God’s character is revealed in His Word. The Psalms talk a lot about God’s nature, helping you learn about who He is and why you should praise Him.  The Psalms also teach you how to express praise to God with your voice, heart and body.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.  Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. (Psalm 103:1-2)

For more on praying the Psalms, access the exclusive content, Psalms To Pray As Praise To God, in the Free Resource Library

2. Thank God for what He’s done

You don’t get to just read in the Bible about what God is like and the works He does on behalf of His people.  You get to experience it in your life as you walk with Him. You don’t only read about Him healing your heart when it’s broken, or providing for a need, or loving you unconditionally, or answering a prayer. You experience Him doing it for you and for others.  Acknowledge and thank Him for those things.

3. Pray for salvation for those who are not believers in Jesus

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them…This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

We all have people in our lives who have not yet come to faith in Jesus.  Friends, family members, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, people in your city in general etc.  Jesus wants every person to be saved and to know Him in personal relationship.  As Jesus followers who love the people around us and also love Jesus, of course we want the same thing for them!

When you pray for God to work in people’s hearts so that they respond to Jesus and His message, you pray for something you want to happen and God wants to happen.  It’s pretty cool to connect with His heart that way.

4. Pray for spiritual growth and maturity for those who are believers in Jesus

Ephesians 1:16-20. Colossians 1:9-11. Philippians 1:9-11.  And those are only a few references to these types of prayers in the Bible. The Apostle Paul and other early Church leaders in the Bible were constantly praying for God to help their fellow believers mature in their faith.  We need to be praying the same for ourselves and for others.

For more praying biblical prayers, access the exclusive content, How To Pray The New Testament Prayers, in the Free Resource Library

5. Pray for God’s help in the practical needs and situations of life

 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Maybe you need wisdom for a situation at work or school.  Maybe you have a financial need.  Maybe there’s stress in a valued relationship in your life and you need God to bring healing.  Maybe you have a friend who’s making a big life decision and you know they need God’s direction.  Maybe you see the challenges that your city or nation are facing and you believe God can work in those things like only He can.

There are all kinds of practical needs and current situations in our lives, in the lives of others and even in the world that need God’s power to intervene.  We make way for Him to do that through prayer.

To learn how to make a prayer list, access the exclusive content, How To Make A Prayer List, in the Free Resource Library

You can pray through these areas for others specifically by name. (I’d encourage you to do that.)  You can pray for your campus, your workplace, your church community or even other cities and nations this way.  These biblical themes give us topics to help us talk to God on behalf of ourselves and others during our prayer times. Use them to facilitate a well-rounded prayer life as you have conversations with God.  And say good-bye to those “dud moments” in prayer. 🙂

Your Turn: Think about how you can incorporate these themes into your prayer time for yourself and others this week and spend some time doing it. Discuss today’s post in the comments below.

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