Prayer is a communication between God and you. Prayer is a gift from God, who has given each and every one of us the privilege and opportunity of addressing him directly. It needn’t be in words – we can simply open our heartfelt thoughts and emotions to our God. Our prayers in church services are corporate and follow patterns of words, but our private prayers needn’t be formal. People often pray  for help in times of crisis or great need, but most of us don’t live all the time in a state of crisis; prayer can simply be a thank-you for what we have, or praise – acknowledging to God that you appreciate and believe in his greatness and goodness. Like all communications, prayer should also be two-way – listening to God as well as speaking to him.

Jesus gave his disciples and us a model of prayer, The Lord’s Prayer, which includes all the elements of praise, thanks and requests.

Church of England prayers for topics of the day