How to Pray

“Prayer is simply talking to God—and the most important thing I can say about this is that God wants you to talk to Him! He loves us and He has promised to hear us when we pray.

“God hears our prayers on all occasions, whether we’re praying out loud or praying silently in our hearts and minds. After all, He knows all about us and knows what is going on inside us—both good and bad. The Bible says that God sees ‘our innermost thoughts and desires’ (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible also says, ‘The Lord detests evil plans, but he delights in pure words’ (Proverbs 15:26).

“God even hears our prayers when we can’t even put them into words—times, for example, when our hearts are too burdened or confused even to speak. The Bible says, ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express’ (Romans 8:26).

“One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the privilege of prayer—a privilege that is possible because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Thank God for the privilege of prayer and learn daily to ‘Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you’ (1 Peter 5:7).”

— Billy Graham

Deepen Your Prayer Life With This Free Resource

When you fill out the form below, we’ll send you a powerful resource on four Biblical principles for effective prayer. This simple pamphlet features timeless teaching from Billy Graham, and we hope it strengthens your prayer life.