Start with the prayer Jesus taught
Read Matthew 6:5–15 slowly. Notice that the Lord’s Prayer includes worship, daily needs, forgiveness, and help in temptation. Prayer makes room for ordinary dependence as well as praise.
Try praying one phrase at a time. After ‘Give us today our daily bread,’ name something you need today. After the words about forgiveness, leave room to consider your relationships. This is a starting point, not a formula that makes God do what you want.
Pray like this: “‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
Tell the truth about how you feel
Psalm 62 invites people to pour out their hearts before God. Other psalms contain grief, frustration, and questions. You can say, ‘I don’t know how to pray,’ or sit quietly when words are difficult.
Romans 8:26 places weakness within the life of prayer: the Spirit helps when believers do not know what to pray. Difficulty finding words does not have to end the conversation.
Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.
In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.
Try a small, repeatable practice
Set aside a few minutes in a place where you can be attentive. Read a short passage, name one thing you are thankful for, bring one concern, and pause. If your attention wanders, return without turning the moment into a test.
Christian traditions also use written prayers, silence, the psalms, the rosary, and shared liturgies in different ways. Ask someone in your church to show you a practice they use. You can learn to pray with others as well as on your own.
When prayer seems unanswered
An unanswered prayer is not proof that you chose the wrong words or lacked enough faith. In Gethsemane, Jesus brings a painful request to his Father while entrusting himself to God’s will (Matthew 26:36–46). The passage does not remove the difficulty, but it gives Christians language for it.
If prayer brings up persistent distress or a painful experience with religion, consider talking with a trusted pastor, counsellor, or supportive person. You do not have to work through it alone.