“These things I have spoken to you in figures of speech; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. On that day you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (vv. 25-28)

I received the baptism in the Roman Catholic church as an infant and went to many different churches. I grew up thinking that I know God. But I realized seven years ago that I had wrong ideas about God. I was taught in my youth that I must pray at meal times, at bedtime, and whenever I needed help. I did not even know who to call among the three persons of Godhead when praying. The answer was in Matthew 6:9:

Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (Matthew 6:9)

Christians and unbelievers around the world pray without knowing who they pray to. They just utter things that they wish to happen or gain. Things they utter may come true. But they think that they are just lucky. They pray just for their peace of mind. Even people who call themselves Christians use the word, ‘luck’. Luck is men-made. It is not real. The frequent use of this word proves that only few people acknowledge the existence of God of the Bible. Only few know God.

For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)

Praying is not something difficult to do. But it is accepted by God only when the elect pray in the Holy Spirit. Pray requires us to be the adopted children of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Basically it requires us to be one with God.

Ministers and theologians write about how to pray or how to make your prayer be heard by God. I hope they just shut up and stop writing. They often treat God as a pagan god. Christians around the world go to certain places to pray as if God would hear them better there. The Bible rebukes them because that was what the adulterous people did in the OT. God showed us repeatedly throughout the history that He does not dwell in a certain place. Jerusalem in the OT is only a symbol of the real Jerusalem, the invisible church. God left Jerusalem as written in Ezekiel 10 and 11.

I was planning to travel to Jerusalem in 2020. The pandemic came and I could not go. God did not want me to waste time and money because He is not there. That place is full of false Christians who think God loves the land and the Israel nation and can hear their prayer better there.

Without knowing God and His will, our prayer is just meaningless words. God does not hear better when a person prays for a long time or repeatedly.

Do not be quick with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)

I do not think I pray better than others. But God answers my prayer at an appropriate time and reveals His will. God does not put an unnecessary burden on me by giving me excessive wisdom or tasks that I cannot handle.

What each church needs to teach is the meaning of the Lord’s prayer. I think the Lord’s prayer is despised even in the Reformed denominations because they focus on worshiping people. Believing God is not from men’s will or effort. You cannot become a child of God by following the Apostles or the reformers or Adam. Becoming a child of God is God’s free gift.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. (1 Corinthians 3:5)

Our Lord has already taught us what prayer God is pleased with. Pagans pray to their gods for their health and wealth. We must not pray to God as pagans do.

Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ (Matthew 6:9-13)