What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Pray (Easier Than You Think)

Many believers struggle with prayer, feeling stuck, distracted, or unsure of what to say, viewing it as a complicated duty rather than a natural relationship. However, prayer is intended to be like breathing for the believer. To move from frustration to finding a consistent, powerful flow in prayer requires intentionally addressing common obstacles and surrendering to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Overcoming Barriers to Prayer

Several factors commonly block the flow of effective prayer, causing tension and resistance:

• Distractions: The mind can be cluttered with the cares of this world, such as pressures from school, strain in marriage, unfavorable work situations, or worry about children not serving the Lord.
• Doubt: Skepticism regarding whether God hears you, whether He has accepted you, whether your past is forgiven, or whether you truly have access to the throne room can prevent the flow of prayer.
• The Flesh: The flesh is weak and resistant to prayer, often causing believers to feel impatient, tense up, squirm, or look for excuses to leave the moment.

The Role of the Holy Spirit: Your Helper and Guide

The solution to overcoming weakness and finding the flow of prayer is the Holy Spirit, who serves as the believer’s helper.

• Praying for You: The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and already knows what God wants us to pray for. He prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words, having already found the flow on the believer’s behalf.
• The Key is Surrender: To access the Holy Spirit’s guidance and reach higher heights and deeper depths in prayer, believers must learn to surrender and yield to the move of the Spirit.

The Path to Finding Flow: Wait, Read, and Worship

When you hit a “wall” in prayer—a moment of sudden stoppage or lack of direction—you must utilize specific spiritual keys to reconnect with the rhythm of the Spirit.

1. Wait on the Lord: Stopping the Striving

Waiting is the fundamental first step in surrender, and it means stopping the effort, striving, and tension.

• Yield to the Quickening: Stop trying to figure out the formula or protocol. Instead, quiet your soul, stop tensing up mentally and emotionally, and wait on the Lord. As you wait, there will be a quickening in the spirit.
• Supernatural Strength: Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up with wings as eagles. This supernatural strength allows you to continue praying without forcing it or being weary.
• Avoiding Self-Imposed Standards: Do not try to dictate to God the specific kind of encounter you should have (e.g., feeling electricity or weeping due to glory). Such self-imposed standards become a distraction from what God is actually doing.

2. Read the Word: The Mirror and the Fuel

Reading the Word of God is essential for gaining clarity on what to pray and for igniting the spirit of prayer.

• Praying God’s Will: The Word shows the promises of God and what is available for you to pray. When you pray the scriptures, you are praying the will of God.
• The Word as a Mirror: As you read the teachings of Jesus and the epistles, the Word becomes like a mirror to your heart and soul. This reveals areas that need correction in your character, attitude, mindset, or specific behaviors. You can then pray specifically for patience, kindness, trust, or joy where you currently lack them.
• Substance and Depth: The Word of God ignites a passion for prayer and provides substance and depth to your prayers, preventing them from becoming vain repetitions.

3. Worship the Lord: Focusing on His Face

Worship is the adoration of the Lord and should be practiced with intensity of attention. Worship is so powerful that if you have an hour to pray, the sources suggest dedicating 45 minutes to it.

• Eruption of True Worship: Worship works hand-in-hand with the Word: as you receive revelation, you capture a glimpse of the face of Jesus, which causes true worship to erupt from deep within your being.
• Transformation and Glory: As you see and reflect the glory of the Lord (with the veil removed through the Spirit), you are transformed from glory to glory, becoming more and more like Him.
• Fading Troubles: When you focus on Jesus—His character, nature, power, mercy, love, and grace—He becomes a brilliant light, and everything else, including troubles, clutter, and discouragement, begins to fade.
• The Sweetness of Presence: Once you’ve tasted the sweetness of the Holy Spirit’s presence, nothing else will satisfy or fulfill. Simple, God-centered songs of love and worship are effective in bringing down God’s presence.

The Flexibility of Prayer: Many Streams

Prayer is compared to a river with many streams, and the Holy Spirit will guide you to the appropriate stream once you surrender. These streams include:

• Worship: Focusing on God’s majesty and glory.
• Intercession: Praying for loved ones.
• Spiritual Warfare: Rebuking the enemy and participating in confrontation.
• Repentance: Acknowledging areas needing correction.
• Waiting: Resting and being still before the Lord.

The Call to Generosity and Partnership

The sources also connect effective prayer and spiritual flow with generosity.

• Prosperity is Biblical: The generous will prosper, and those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
• Unleashing Flow: Generosity unleashes the flow of God’s provision and prosperity. The flesh naturally grips resources out of fear, but faith leads to freedom and the release of resources.
• Honoring the Word: Believers are encouraged to support ministries from which they receive the Word, recognizing the biblical principle to sow where you grow. This support enables the ministry to continue fighting for the soul of this generation and expanding the Kingdom.

By waiting on the Lord, grounding prayer in the Word, and prioritizing worship, believers can overcome resistance and find a natural, flowing rhythm with the Holy Spirit, accessing higher places in prayer.