7 Biblical Prayers and How to Pray Them TodaySample

Why Explore Biblical Prayers?

Have you ever wondered if you were praying the wrong way? In the back of your mind, do you think that God might not really listen if you use the wrong words, or if you forget to close your prayer with “in Jesus’ name, amen”?

If so, here’s some good news: People pray in all kinds of spontaneous, heartfelt ways throughout the Bible. Over the next seven days, we’ll explore seven powerful biblical prayers that can help you develop a richer prayer life.

Along the way, you might notice that the prayers don’t follow a template—and they don’t magically get God to do what we want Him to. Sometimes biblical prayers are simple requests; other times they’re a longer conversation. Sometimes God answers right away, and at other times He doesn’t answer the way the person praying had hoped.

If each prayer is different, what stays the same? When people pray honest prayers, our loving God always hears.

Let’s get started with our first type of prayer.

A Prayer for Help

The woman came and knelt before [Jesus]. “Lord, help me!” she said. Matthew 15:25 NIV

There was a woman who cared very much about her daughter and knew the girl needed more help than a mother could give. This woman believed Jesus could help, so she dared to ask.

Even though she was a stranger from another land and the people around her were telling her to go away, she persevered in her request. She got down on her knees in humility and asked Jesus for help until He commended her for her faith and gave her what she needed.

Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be long or flowery. It just needs to be directed in faith to the One who has the power to do something. Jesus is God, so He has all the power. And He’s listening.

God invites you to bring your troubles to Him because you matter to Him. When the outcome isn’t what you hoped for, that doesn’t mean He’s ignoring you. It may mean the answer will take a different shape than you expected.

Sometimes help looks like finding strength. Sometimes it’s clarity for the next step. Sometimes it’s the right person showing up at the right time. The question isn’t whether pain has a purpose. The question is whether you’re willing to trust that you’re not facing it alone.

How to pray for help today: What do you need help with? Turn to God and simply ask Him for what you need, trusting Him with the result. He loves hearing from you and has no shortage of resources. Humble yourself before Him and believe that He loves you and can change things—even if it’s not how you expected.

Pray: Father, thank You for caring about the things I care about. I trust that You listen to me when I cry out to You. Remind me that I can cast my cares on You when I have a need. Help me to trust You with the outcome. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Need help getting your prayers started? Check out this beginner’s prayer guide.