What’s this prayer stuff? Where did it come from? Why is it so hard for us to pray? Who said it should be done? How do they pray like that? Why am I as a Christian hesitant to speak to God, whether in public or in private? If you are anything like me, at some stage of your walk with Christ these are some of the questions you’ve asked yourself. My quest to learn about prayer and what it means came from asking some of the same questions. Some of us were never taught the meaning and purpose of prayer. It was most times assumed by the elders and leaders of our churches we would either “get” the purpose of prayer by osmosis or we would eventually catch on to what they were already doing. Within a lot of our church denominations, prayer has become prefabricated and ritualistic therefore we have forgotten what prayer really means to us as believers. Either way, it’s time for the body of Christ to re-examine our communication skills with God.


I really didn’t know what prayer meant to a believer in Jesus Christ. It was mystical and supposedly powerful. It was taught to me that prayer was important to do, but I was never told why it was so important or even how to do it on my own. Some in my life had made prayer out to be this, archaic “thing” used by people who supposedly had a higher purpose and calling in the religious world. I also realized along the way other people were just as confused and intimidated about prayer as me. Whenever prayer was requested in a secular setting, most people would look around and hope no one called on them to speak. Let’s face it, I found in the real world, when people said they were praying for you, they were mostly saying they were thinking really hard about you and hoping all goes in your favor. Most people would rather pull their own tooth than stand in front of a crowd and say a prayer. In my opinion, prayer had gotten a bad name and reputation, both inside and outside the church walls.


The goal of this book is to show young people and those who are looking to jumpstart their own prayer life that prayer is not as complicated and formal as they’ve been lead to believe. Originally, I was going to name this book “Prayer is for Old folks. Ain’t It?” Or is it? Isn’t that what most people think? The only ones who seem to lean on the power of prayer these days are the elders, preachers and older church-goers of the world. Because of the times in which we live, it has become more and more difficult for young people and the unbeliever to talk to others about just how hard it is to experience life. For a young person trying to deal with school, loneliness, peer pressure, working or even early parenthood, it can be overwhelming and downright scary. Many teenagers, young adults or even those who are new to Christianity don’t know where to turn when life gets tough. Faith is hard to develop when you don’t have life experiences and first hand knowledge of God’s goodness. For the unbeliever, it is literally impossible to understand God let less His faithfulness to His people. In most cases, experiencing God’s goodness only comes after having developed a relationship with Him through prayer. Getting started on the path to a great prayer life is really not taught either. Rather it is assumed a new believer in Christ will automatically know how to pray. If a problem develops and a young person goes to seek counsel, the response is more than likely “Baby just pray about it”, rather than a taking of the hand and showing them how prayer is done. Praying for their selves seems too hard or complicated, so they turn back to things that are more familiar and spirit-numbing. Sometimes its gangs and fighting or turning on the TV or loud music to drown out the silence. It can be gaming, the internet or even irresponsible, un-Christ like behavior. These negative behaviors just lead to a more frustrating living experience. This in turn will leave a person in greater need of communication with God than ever before.


Our modern day church experiences have, unfortunately, left young people, the unsaved and some of our young in Christ struggling to communicate with God in a real and basic way. The lofty, pious ways some people in religious settings are using prayer have left most of them feeling confused, inadequate and nervous. When they finally try to pray, they’re unable to speak to God without comparing themselves to the very ones who confused them in the first place.


So together, in this book we will examine what prayer is and where it came from. We will describe the different forms of prayer and how important it is to utilize prayer everyday. We will cast down the image of formalized, ritualistic prayer and expose true prayer as the most open, secure form of communication that a human being can ever have on earth. We will focus on the Who, what, why, when, where and how’s of prayer. Finally, we will discover there is power in waiting on God to answer in His timing and in His fashion. It is the basic ABCs of prayer in real terms. So real, that communication between God and His people will be firmly and eternally re-established. Once prayer is permanent in a person’s life they will discover they won’t ever want to live without talking to God, their Father ever again.


As you read this book, ask God to open your heart and spirit to a freer, less restrictive way of praying. Your willingness to lay down religious background and traditional thought will bring about greater results in talking to God.