Teach Us to Pray, Week 1

Many Christians know they should pray but struggle to understand what prayer really is or how to do it well. Prayer was never meant to be a transaction where we only reach out to God when we need something. Drawing from the imagery of the tabernacle's altar of incense, we see that prayer is meant to be a continual, ongoing conversation with God, not a ritual with a clear beginning and end. Just as the incense in the tabernacle burned day and night, our connection with God can remain constant. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, every believer now carries the presence of God and has direct access to Him at any moment. Your prayers, no matter how simple, rise to God as something He finds genuinely pleasing. Prayer is not a duty to check off a list. It is the primary way we stay close to the God who loves us and wants to walk with us through everything.