To pray is to talk to God
To pray is to talk with God, to be conscious of His presence and to listen to His voice in your heart. When you pray, you can say anything. Praying can make burdens easier to carry and praying can make profound joy even more profound. You can express your desires, sadness and give thanks. You can pray for others. In the words of the Bible: "pour out your hearts to him". When you pray, you can use your own words, prayers from the Bible or other prewritten prayers. You do not need to feel that you have great faith in order to pray. Anybody can pray. You can pray alone or you can pray together with others. If you want to pray with someone but do not know who to turn to, see the page. Someone to talk to.
Prayer habits
Habits are a good thing. This is also true when it comes to prayer. If we talk with God on a regular basis, it will be easier to find words when we feel we really need them. Praying, e.g. praying the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning or at the end of the day, will – on a daily basis – remind us of a reality that is greater than our own and of God who loves us and wants a relationship with each one of us.
The Lord's Prayer and prayer in church
The Lord’s Prayer (Fadervor) is the most common and universal prayer among Christians. It can be used on a daily basis as a personal prayer and it is a natural part of the Eucharist and baptism in the Evangelical Lutheran church. The Lord’s Prayer can be found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6). Jesus himself taught his disciples to pray this prayer.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one,
for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
As we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded about the fact that we are part of a worldwide Christian fellowship: We pray "give us", "forgive us", etc.
At the beginning and the end of the Sunday service, a prayer is said. The pastor also prays several prayers during the service. Some of them can be found in the Hymnbook.
