However, the blessings of Christ surpass the curses of Satan, the light always overcomes the darkness.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Interesting coincidence that you ask how exactly to pray. I remember teaching my sister the very same thing recently.

I say “exactly” even though there’s no “exact formula”, by which I mean, prayer is essentially a conversation with God, where you ask Him for help. Think of it like, this very dialogue you and I are having. Except it’s with you and God. Of course, there can be social rules when it comes to grammar, being respectful, which I will elaborate on.

We should not pray just to brag. Imagine if you were talking to a billionaire and they suddenly shouted out “YES I WILL DONATE YOU ONE CENT. THAT’S RIGHT ONNNEEE PENNY!!111” so other people can hear how “generous” I am. Like those mega corps that donate 1 million dollars and then spend 10 million dollars on advertising that donation.

Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Truly, there’s nothing inherently wrong with donating a few cents, even a single penny. The purpose is not to boast about it. Many rich people flaunt their donations, they receive their reward, but our Father rewards in secret, thus we give in secret, and prayer is just spiritual giving.

Giving as in giving thanks. It’s important not just to ask, but also to be grateful for the things we already have. For me, I’m grateful that I have you to talk to and I am humbled by your attention and the time you take reading my messages, my friend :)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Of course, it’s okay to tell someone you’ll pray for them, or you’ll support them. But it should be like a regular conversation.

Example:

Person 1: I have situation where I need prayer.

Person 2: Then I will pray for you my friend.

It must be genuine love, not just fake self-promotion. Like how some rich people don’t care about a charity and instead just donate for a tax write-off to save money. If we have no love, we are nothing. 1 Cor 13:2

Here’s a Biblical sample.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

And an emphasis on the secrecy. It doesn’t have to be in your room necessarily, not even with a door closed. Sometimes I pray together with my family in the living room where there can be no door to even shut in the first place. One person, like my mother, can lead and my sister and I reply “Yes” whenever she mentions a point.

Matthew 6:5-6 And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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.

Philippians 4:20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Amen.

ἀμήν (amēn)

Hebrew Word

Strong's 281: Of Hebrew origin; properly, firm, i.e. trustworthy; adverbially, surely.

https://www.biblehub.com/greek/strongs_281.htm

Amen is synonymous with “truly” and “verily”. So when you say “Amen” it’s like you say “I agree”.

Ex: Here’s a case where we closed our eyes and sometimes sit, sometimes stand.

My mother: Our Father in Heaven, please bless our household with peace and tranquility.

My sister and I: Yes

…

My mother: We ask for everything, only in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, amen.

My sister and I: Amen.

Other times, I look at my surroundings and pray in my thoughts with my eyes open, like when I’m riding the transit bus. And I whisper “Amen” to myself to conclude so others do not know I am praying.

Also when I’m outside, I give people money, I like to do it very secretly. Like prayer. So much so, that I’m not elaborating. Next point!

Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Matthew 6:7 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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

There’s no secret ancient ritual needed for prayer, as some dance around a fire and chant repetitively “GOOD TO US GOOD TO US GOOD TO US” over and over again. As it repeats, it loses meaning, there’s no thought behind it, just mindless nonsense unfortunately. God doesn’t force us to say a lot, there’s no minimum or maximum length of prayer time. If we have not much to say, we can leave it at that. If we want to talk a lot, we can mention more. Again, it’s like a conversation. My sister is one of my closest friends, and when I see her sometimes I just say “Hello” or a quick topic, other times we talk for hours on end giving each other therapy. Prayer is really just a conversation with God.

Now imagine if I went to my sister and started repetitively saying “GOOD TO US GOOD TO US GOOD TO US”. Sure, I’m asking for something “good”, a blessing, but I repeat so many times that it can become annoying. Some of the religious people of Jesus’ time would repeat these phrases to look “holier” than other people, shouting it aloud.

Proverbs 27:14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.

Imagine you’re peacefully sleeping and I suddenly shout a loud prayer of “THE LORD GOD BLESSES YOU WITH SALVATION!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” and you wake up. I could have said the nicest thing to you, but the problem is I used a prayer at a bad timing, now you’re tired, you still wanted to sleep some more.

That’s why when I post in Discord servers, I have a Bible verse and I write my own commentary. I try to keep it daily, though I’m only human and sometimes technology limits me (like getting banned). But I don’t spam Discord servers all at once, like maybe just around one message a day if the chat is inactive. If someone has multiple questions in a day, then I’m fine with sending more messages of course!

Nothing wrong with saying the same thing if there’s a time span. Like… imagine the amount of times you must have said “Hello” or “Hi” to people. Maybe hundreds or thousands of times. Nothing wrong with having that repeated. But the timing’s important! If I go up to you and say, unprompted, “Hihihihihihihihihihihihhihihihihihihihihihihihi!!!!!” you would just be confused. But if it was a “Hi” every day, then it’s fine.

Ok ok, this next part, I like to clarify, is just the DEFAULT prayer template. Like imagine you open Microsoft Word and there’s an already made one of a calendar. You don’t have to pray like this, there’s many many other formats.

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Do you have to pray like that all the time? No! Can you use it if you want, sure!

Think of it like those business email templates a customer service representative can send you like…

Hi name,

[content]

Have a good day,

Do you have to talk like that all the time? No! Can you use it if you want, sure!

But an important aspect of that prayer is the mention of God. Any of His names work really. Our Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Lord of Hosts, Almighty Lord, YHWH aka LORD, Yeshua (aka Jesus Christ, meaning Yahweh saves, so when you believe in Jesus, you literally believe that God will save you, it’s different from the demons who believe that one god exists, that’s why I evangelize people by getting them to believe in Jesus Christ, specifically the God of Christianity not just a god in general).

Someone could create a really emotional beautiful sounding prayer, but if it’s not directed towards the LORD, then it won’t work.

So, the way we pray is like the way we talk. There are social rules, like not screaming in someone’s face (ow my ear drums) or repeating the same meaningless “secret ancient ritual” words over and over again. So there’s a lot of room for your own personal communication style.

But no matter what conversation style you choose, it’s important to pray consistently.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Sometimes I pray before eating, thanking God for the food. I usually pray before going to bed. I’ve prayed to get a good grade on a midterm, final exam or to get group members to cooperate in a project.

One time, I even prayed throughout an entire driving road test. …. With my eyes open! Ok, I really want to clarify that!!!! Jesus didn’t take the steering wheel for me, I still drove the car myself, but I felt the Holy Spirit in me, protecting me. In my head I would praise the Lord in various ways, thanking Him and asking Him for guidance.

Truly, I just barely passed. I was allowed to make 10 general mistakes. And I made exactly 10 general mistakes. One more and I would have failed. I was so happy I shouted aloud “YES!” while raising my arms. I even called my mom to celebrate! :D