Its not just how to pray.

Its how to live

How to pray? When learning to walk you didnt have any lessons on the physics of movement or the laws of gravity and mass acceleration. You just kept on trying, stumbling and falling but getting up again till you finally mastered the art of bipedal locomotion. Now you stroll along the river bank and you dont even think about how you got there or what steps you should take to get to the boathouse. It all comes natural to you. Well, praying is a bit like walking, but walking in the Spirit.

Learning how to pray

Jesus once taught His disciples how to pray, but that was only because they asked and the answer He gave them had been abused for hundreds of years by those who had only grasped its form but not its meaning and keep repeating only the words. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray many other times, but He did it by praying and sometimes even fasting. That was the real school of prayer, and it was an itinerant school. Jesus is still with every believer. He lives inside them and has promised to be with us till the end of time. Moreover He has sent the Holy Spirit who helps us and intercedes for us when we pray. The Father is pleased to hear our prayers and always answers any prayer addressed to Him, provided it is done in the name of Jesus.

Instructions on how to pray

What instructions could I give you when all looks so simple? Just one that Paul the apostle gave to the Corinthians: Let all things be done decently and in order. To keep in good health there are certain routines that must be repeated daily, such as regular meals at regular times, exercise, enough sleep and proper hygiene. All this helps us keep alive and well, and though we can go on for some time without some of them, or change the usual time that we eat or sleep (i.e. when travelling to a different time zone) we must go back eventually to sustainable habits if we want to have a long and happy life. In our prayer life we must also exercise discipline. It is of little help to us to pray long hours for a day and then forget about God for a week. Just like you cant eat in a day the food that you need for a whole week, so praying must be a daily activity that must not be neglected. In fact, it

is the bible that recommends praying on a regular basis. Pray without ceasing was Pauls advice to the believers in Thessalonica. That advice still holds today in learning how to pray.