Prayer is one of the most preached-about topics in the church and one of the least practiced. The reason is not that people do not want to pray. It is that most sermons on prayer tell people they should pray without teaching them how to pray. The result is a congregation that feels guilty about their prayer life rather than one that actually prays.
Preaching on prayer well requires teaching people how to pray, not just why they should.
What Most Prayer Sermons Get Wrong
Most sermons on prayer focus on the importance of prayer, the power of prayer, and the failure of the congregation to pray enough. These sermons produce guilt. They do not produce prayer.
A sermon on prayer that actually produces prayer will:
- Teach people a specific, practical way to pray
- Model prayer from the pulpit in a way that gives people permission to pray simply and honestly
- Address the specific obstacles that keep people from praying
- Celebrate answered prayer to build faith and expectation
most prayer sermons tell people they should pray without teaching them how
the pastor who prays honestly from the pulpit gives the congregation permission to pray honestly
a congregation that has a history of answered prayer prays with expectation
The Biblical Framework for Prayer
Prayer is conversation, not performance
The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is a model, not a script. Jesus gave it as a framework for how to pray, not as words to be repeated. The person who prays “Our Father” without thinking about what those words mean is not praying. They are reciting. Teach the congregation to pray the Lord’s Prayer as a framework for genuine conversation with God.
Honest prayer is acceptable prayer
The Psalms are the prayer book of the Bible, and they are full of honest, raw, sometimes angry prayers. Psalm 22 begins with “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 88 ends without resolution. God does not rebuke these prayers. He records them as Scripture. Teach the congregation that honest prayer, including prayer that expresses doubt, anger, and confusion, is acceptable to God.
Persistent prayer is commanded
Luke 18:1-8 (the persistent widow), Luke 11:5-13 (the friend at midnight). Jesus commands persistent prayer. Not because God needs to be convinced, but because persistent prayer changes the person who prays. Teach the congregation to pray persistently for specific things and to expect God to act.
Practical Teaching on How to Pray
The ACTS framework
Adoration (praise God for who he is), Confession (acknowledge sin honestly), Thanksgiving (thank God for specific blessings), Supplication (bring specific requests). This simple framework gives people a structure for prayer that prevents them from running out of things to say.
Praying Scripture
Teach the congregation to pray the words of Scripture back to God. Take a Psalm, a promise, or a passage and turn it into a prayer. This is one of the most powerful prayer practices available and one of the least taught.
Specific prayer
Teach the congregation to pray specifically. Not “Lord, bless the missionaries” but “Lord, bring the gospel to the Wolof people of Senegal.” Not “Lord, help my friend” but “Lord, help John with the conversation he needs to have with his son this week.” Specific prayer is more honest, more expectant, and more likely to be answered in ways that build faith.
If the pastor’s public prayers are polished and formal, the congregation will assume that is what prayer is supposed to sound like. If the pastor prays simply, honestly, and specifically, the congregation will learn that they can do the same.
Not a sermon about prayer. A sermon that teaches one specific, practical way to pray. The ACTS framework. Praying Scripture. Praying specifically for one named person. Give the congregation something they can do this week, not just something they should feel guilty about not doing.