The Privilege of Prayer - Conclusion of COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT PRAYER

What should be most important in our prayers? Jehovah and his will. We should thank him from our heart for everything he has done for us.  (1 Chronicles 29:10-13)  We know this because when Jesus was on earth, he taught his disciples how to pray. (Read Matthew 6:9-13). He said that they should first pray for God's name to be sanctified, that is, treated as sacred or holy.  Then Jesus showed that we should for God's "Kingdom to come and for Jehovah's will to be done on earth  (all over the earth) as it is in heaven. It was only after praying  for those very important things that Jesus said that we should pray for our personal needs. When we put Jehovah and his will first in our prayers, we show what is most important to us. 

How long should our prayers be?  The Bible doesn't say.  Our prayers can be short or long, depending on the situation.  For example, we might say a short prayer before we eat but a longer prayer when we are giving thanks or telling him our concerns.  (1 Samuel  1:12, 15)  We don't want to say long prayers just to impress others, as some did in Jesus' day (Luke 20:46, 47)  Jehovah is not impressed by prayers like those.  What's important to Jehovah is that we pray from our heart. 

Why should we say "amen" at the end of our prayer?  The word "amen"  means "surely" or "so be it."  It is way of showing that we mean what we said in our prayers, that is, we are sincere.  (Psalm 41:13) The Bible teaches us that it is also good  to say "amen," either silently or out loud, at he end of a public prayer to show that we agree with what was said. - 1 CHRONICLES 16:36;  1 CORINTHIANS  14:16.

Next time:  The Privilege of Prayer - HOW GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS

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