Prayer

pRAYER

Prayer is 24x7, anywhere, anytime.

Prayer is visiting and talking with God.

I think prayer should start with thanking God for the good he has done for you.

It's as simple as closing your eyes and whispering to God.

Pray in the car, before falling asleep, when you wake up in the middle of the night, while in the bathroom, in your room or den, while brushing teeth, during commercials (mute them), while shaving, in the shower, while waiting, during a rest or nap, while closing your eyes for a minute, and the list goes one, anywhere, anytime, 24x7.

One of the hardest things about praying is to actually start. Even if you pray for 5 minutes you benefit greatly.

The following quotes and verses of Scripture are there to give you some thoughts about prayer.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'thank you', it will be enough.
Meister Eckhart

Now I lay me down to take my sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Author Unknown

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God.
Edwin Keith

Prayer gives a man the opportunity of getting to know a gentleman he hardly ever meets. I do not mean his maker, but himself.”
W. R. Inge

Prayer changes things? No! Prayer changes people, and people change things.
Burton Hills

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.
Garth Brooks

God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them.
Author Unknown

God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction.
Richard Cecil

Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.
Baltimore Catechism

I have had prayers answered - most strangely so sometimes - but I think our heavenly Father's loving-kindness has been even more evident in what He has refused me.
Lewis Carroll

Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.
Mahatma Gandhi

Prayer is when you talk to God; meditation is when you listen to God.
Diana Robinson

Pray, and let God worry.
Martin Luther

Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer.
François Fénelon

Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.
Mahatma Gandhi

I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.
Abraham Lincoln

I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.
John Wesley

By my definition, prayer is consciously hanging out with God. Being with God in a deliberate way.
Malcolm Boyd

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Mahatma Gandhi

Every one should find some suitable time, day or night, to sink into his depths, each according to his own fashion. Not every one is able to engage in contemplative prayer.
Johannes Tauler

For hundreds of millions of Americans who believe in God, prayer is our bridge between Earth and Heaven, our way of opening our hearts to the Lord. Through this intimate relationship we find peace and guidance.
Nick Rahall

For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.
Teresa of Avila

God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap and develop these powers.
Abdul Kalam

God is looking for people to use, and if you can get usable, he will wear you out. The most dangerous prayer you can pray is this: 'Use me.'
Rick Warren

Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.
R. A. Torrey

Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.
Corrie ten Boom

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.
Oswald Chambers

Now Samson was very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord, "You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagan people?" So God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place "The Spring of the One Who Cried Out," and it is still in Lehi to this day.
Judges 15:18-19

You heard their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed.
Psalm 22:5

O Lord, you are my rock of safety. Please help me; don't refuse to answer me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
Psalm 28:1-2

Bend down and listen to me; rescue me quickly.
Psalm 31:2

Don't let me be disgraced, O Lord, for I call out to you for help.
Psalm 31:17

In sudden fear I had cried out, "I have been cut off from the Lord!" But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help.
Psalm 31:22

But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help.
Psalm 31:22

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me, freeing me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.
Psalm 34:15

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

The righteous face many troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every one.
Psalm 34:19

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
Psalm 46:1

Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
Psalm 55:1-2

I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
Psalm 63:4

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth...
Psalm 65:5

But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.
Psalm 66:19

I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!
Psalm 116:1-2

In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and rescued me. The Lord is for me, so I will not be afraid.
Psalm 118:5-6

When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
Psalm 138:3

Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, "You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life."
Psalm 142:5

The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely.
Psalm 145:18

...he delights in the prayers of the upright....he hears the prayers of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:8,29

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: "This is what the Lord says: Set you affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness." When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, "Remember, O Lord, how I have always tried to be faithful to you and do what is pleasing in your sight." Then he broke down and wept bitterly. Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: "Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestors David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.'"
Isaiah 38:1-6

Take no rest, all you who pray.
Isaiah 62:6

Take no rest, all you who pray. Give the Lord no rest...
Isaiah 62:6-7

I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayer!
Isaiah 65:24

For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.
Jeremiah 29:11-12

...I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. In those days, I will pour out my Spirit even on servants, men and women alike. I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth - blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn bloodred before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Joel 2:28-32

Pray for those who persecute you!
Matthew 5:44

When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
Matthew 6:5-6

But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly.
Matthew 6:6

When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
Matthew 6:7-8

...your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
Matthew 6:8

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:9-13

Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
Matthew 6:32-33

Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
Matthew 7:7-8

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
Matthew 7:11

He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, "The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his field."
Matthew 9:36-38

Then Jesus prayed this prayer: "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased your to do it this way!
Matthew 11:25-26

...he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
Matthew 14:23

If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them.
Matthew 18:19-20

For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them.
Matthew 18:20

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Matthew 21:22

My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.
Matthew 26:38

He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."
Matthew 26:39

Couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour?
Matthew 26:40

Couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!
Matthew 26:40-41

Again he left them and prayed, "My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done." He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't keep their eyes open. So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again.
Matthew 26:42-44

The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.
Mark 1:35

Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray.
Mark 6:46

Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, "Why couldn't we cast out that evil spirit?" Jesus replied, "This kind can be cast out only by prayer."
Mark 9:28-29

Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it.
Mark 11:24

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.
Mark 11:25

And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, "Sit here while I go and pray."....he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me." He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." Then he returned and found the disciples asleep...."Are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak." Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating his pleadings.
Mark 14:32-39

Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.
Mark 14:38

But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 5:16

One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.
Luke 6:12

Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.
Luke 6:28

...Jesus was alone, praying...
Luke 9:18

...Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white.
Luke 6:28-29

Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said, "This is how you should pray: 'Father, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us our food day by day. And forgive us our sin - just as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And don't let us yield to temptation.'"
Luke 11:1-4

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' He would call out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I can't help you this time.' But I tell you this - though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won't he damaged. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."
Luke 11:5-13

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
Luke 11:9-13

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
Luke 11:13

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.
Luke 18:1

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who was a godless man with great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, appealing for justice against someone who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she wore him out. 'I fear neither God nor man,' he said to himself, 'but this women is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'" Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this evil judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end, so don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when I, the Son of Man, return, how many will I find who have faith?"
Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.' But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."
Luke 18:9-14

The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 14:12-14

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to have all of you, to sift you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers.
Luke 22:31-32

Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you.
Luke 22:46

They all met together continually for prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
Acts 1:14

For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose." So receiving God's promise is not up to us. We can't get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone he chooses.
Romans 9:15-16

Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.
Romans 12:12

Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18

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.
Philippians 4:6-7

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Romans 8:26-28

...you are helping by praying for us....so many people's prayers...have been answered.
2 Corinthians 1:11

Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it.
James 5:13

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
James 5:16

But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.
Jude 1:20