Am I Praying Wrong?

Am I Praying Wrong?

A lot of Christians secretly wonder if there is something wrong with the way they pray — and that question is keeping them from praying at all.

In this episode, I break down what the Bible actually teaches about how to pray, what makes prayer effective, and why most of what we worry about is not what God is focused on.

In this episode:
• What Jesus actually taught about prayer in Matthew 6 and what He was correcting
• What makes prayer effective according to Scripture — and it is simpler than most people think
• The common prayer mistakes that create frustration and distance — and how to move past them

Walk & Warfare exists to answer the hard questions about faith, suffering, doubt, salvation, and what it actually looks like to follow Christ in the world we live in today. No fluff. No performance. Just real biblical answers for real people.

Anthony Jennings founded Walk & Warfare to give believers — and seekers — a place to wrestle honestly with the Bible and come out with something they can stand on.

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Transcript

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Many Christians quietly wonder this at some point. Am I praying wrong? Maybe you've prayed for something repeatedly and nothing seems to change. Maybe the answers you hoped for never came. Or maybe prayer sometimes feels awkward, uncertain, or even confusing, and eventually the thought appears maybe I'm doing this wrong. The Bible actually shows that prayer is not meant to be a performance. It is meant to be a relationship. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he did not give them a complicated formula. In Matthew 6 9, he simply said, Pray then like this, our Father in heaven. Notice the first words, our Father. Prayer begins with relationship, not perfection. God is not listening for flawless language or perfectly structured requests. He is listening to the heart of the person speaking to him. In fact, Jesus specifically warned against treating prayer like a performance. Matthew 6 7 says, When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. God is not waiting for the right combination of words. He already knows the needs we bring to him. The purpose of prayer is not to inform God of something he doesn't know, it is to draw us into conversation with him. That means prayer can be simple, honest, even emotional. Throughout the Psalms we see people speaking to God with raw honesty. Sometimes they are grateful, sometimes confused, sometimes even frustrated, yet those prayers are preserved in Scripture. Another important truth is that unanswered prayer does not mean incorrect prayer. Even the Apostle Paul experienced this. In 2 Corinthians 12, 8-9, he describes asking God three times to remove a thorn in the flesh. God did not remove it. Instead, God responded, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Sometimes prayer changes circumstances, other times prayer changes us, and sometimes God's answer is different than what we expected. But none of those outcomes mean the prayer itself was wrong. Prayer is not about mastering the right technique. It is about bringing your life before God, honestly, consistently, and trusting that He hears even when the answers unfold slowly.