The formal definition of prayer is “to address God with adoration, confession, supplication, and/or thanksgiving.”

It sounds super impressive and official, but like Christian says, prayer is really just communicating with God. Sometimes prayers are long and drawn out, and sometimes they’re short and sweet. As you walk with God, you’ll find new levels of communication, and you’ll get more comfortable speaking with Him. It’s similar to how when you make a new friend, you take time to learn how they talk and text, but if you stay friends with that person over multiple years, communicating with them becomes easier and easier (sometimes you can even know what they’re thinking without words…).

The hardest part of prayer is starting the conversation and then taking the time to listen. We encourage you try praying a couple different ways. You can start by thanking God for what He’s done in your life, or by asking God to speak to your heart and then stopping to listen (this one takes patience). Maybe you start more conversational (“Hi God! Thanks for getting me through the day. Today, I…..). There will be times when you have to say hard prayers, like “God, I messed up. Please forgive me and help me to do better.” Over time, you’ll get more comfortable in knowing how to talk to God and how to hear Him speak to you.

Just know that God hears your prayers and wants you to seek Him! He doesn’t always answer us the way we expect, but He ALWAYS hears us. If you’ve have problems hearing God or communicating with Him, please ask your HUB leader (or any youth leader), and we can talk specifically through your circumstances.

TRY THIS: Take 5 minutes today to talk to God about anything, and then challenge yourself to listen or journal for 5 minutes to what He has to say. His voice will often sound like yours, but you'll know it's Him when He asks you to do things that are hard, to change, or to let go of things holding you back from Him. His voice will always line up to what the Bible says... God will never ask you to do or say something that goes against what the Bible says. So listen closely, and write it down.

PRAY THIS: God, I want to hear your voice. Help me to hear it clearly and to know when it's you speaking to me. Amen.