We were in prayer meeting in church one day when I noticed that some of our brethren were using my exact vocabulary in their prayers. I paused and wondered why and how. But I later realised that it’s one of the easiest ways to learn prayer. Prayer can be learned.
Friend, prayer can be learned. Prayer is both a grace and a skill (Zechariah 12:10). Whereas God will give the grace, you would need to develop and master the skill. Nobody has the gift of prayer. Those who pray take responsibility to learn and engage in it. They maximise God’s grace and develop skill via consistency (1 Timothy 4:7-8). They kept praying until it looked like a gift.
We learn to pray by praying (Acts 6:4). Sometimes, people talk a lot about prayer without really praying. Talking about prayer can make you feel good, but it is just what it is; feeling. It does not transform you. Sometimes, what we call prayer meeting is another preaching meeting. We charge people so much about prayer that we don’t allow them time to really pray (Acts 4:31).
We also learn to pray by following men who know to pray and who truly pray (Matthew 26:36-37). This was the secret of the prayer life of the disciples. They followed Jesus. They saw Him pray. They listened to His prayers. They saw the results of His prayers. Little wonder they asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). That was the only thing they ever told Jesus to teach them.
If you follow a spiritual leader without catching his prayer life, you have not followed well (Exodus 24:13). Instead of asking your pastor to show you his tailor, ask him to show you his prayer closet. Instead of getting awestruck by the result of your spiritual leader, be inspired to pray as he does. We must learn to tie people’s result to their prayer life, not only their gift or smartness (John 3:2, Acts 4:13).
If you are struggling to pray, hang around those who pray and listen (Acts 4:23-33, 12:5). Don’t be ashamed to repeat their exact words until the Holy Spirit takes over and give you your own vocabulary. It is the same way a baby picks his language from the environment. If you want to pray for long, pray with those who do. The grace and spirit would rub off on you (Luke 6:12). Prayer can be learned.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria