This article was written by David Sanford.

When we pray, why do we use words like amen, blessing, and confession? Do such terms make prayer more effective? Is prayer different from normal conversation? What is the gist of prayer, anyway?

It’s important for every believer to have a good understanding of the action and purpose of prayer. How? The best way to start is by simply defining terms in the Bible that relate to prayer.

CALL

No matter what family you come from or what occupation you hold, God calls you to know, love, and follow his Son. It’s an invitation you don’t want to refuse! We also can call on God when we don’t have the answers, when we’re hurting, or when we’re scared. God promises to answer us when we call on him.

PRAY

Prayer, simply put, is talking to God. It is telling him our concerns, confessing our sins and thanking him for what he’s done. When Jesus Christ was on the earth, he always took time out to talk to God the Father. If the Son of God himself needed to pray, how much more do we? If we don’t know how to pray for a certain situation, we know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, giving words to what we cannot express. In those times when it seems like God isn’t listening, we need to keep praying. Why? Scripture tells us that God is close to us when we pray and is always listening to what we say.

ASK

To ask means to call on or request. How can we ask? Pray! Again, prayer is talking with God. We don’t have to sit a certain way or be in a certain place in order to pray. When Jesus was questioned about how requests should be made to God, he used a parable—a type of story—to explain that God wants us to continually approach him through prayer (Luke 11:1–10). He wants to hear our voices and delights to answer our prayers!

BLESSED

When the Bible talks about blessing someone, it generally means giving good things that result in a state of happiness. Sometimes these blessings are material possessions, but more often they are intangible gifts such as love, faith and peace. God has blessed us with peace and an intimate relationship with Him.

CONFESS

According to Scripture, we should confess our sin, admitting that we have done wrong. And we should also confess that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, who died for our sin, came back to life, and is now in heaven with God. God has promised that if a person unashamedly admits, or confesses, the truth of Jesus Christ, then God will forgive our sin. Because we’re human, we will continue to sin. The way to keep a clean slate with God is to continue to confess our sins and thank him for his forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

RENEW

God has the awesome power to erase the scars that sin and pain have left in our hearts. In fact, the Bible says that when Jesus Christ comes into our lives, we become new creations without any spiritual blemishes. The Bible says that inwardly our souls are being renewed day by day. Even when we sin, God renews our intimate relationship with him if we confess our sin and turn back to him. Sometimes we may feel as if we have wandered so far from God that we can never go back. But because of God’s incredible grace, he is able to restore our souls and make us even stronger than we were before.

IMITATE

Living the Christian life includes looking to the original, Jesus Christ. If we are to imitate Jesus Christ—to strive to be like him—we must not only study his life, but also find godly mentors to imitate. Although we cannot see God himself, we can see him in other dedicated Christians. They can be a source of encouragement and can point our lives in the right direction. Pray and use wisdom when choosing a mentor.

DEDICATE

To dedicate or devote something is to give completely, without holding back. Christians give their time, energy, possessions—their lives—completely to God in their desire to show him that he means more to them than anything else in this world. When we dedicate something to God, we are not to ask for it back. He wants us to carefully consider what we dedicate to him.

COUNSEL

You have no idea what to do. You need advice! Now what? God gives several avenues for counsel. First, he gives himself. Jesus Christ is called the “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6). We can—and should—bring all our questions and problems to him. He promises to give wisdom every time we ask for it (James 1:5–6). He may provide that wisdom through the Bible (Psalm 119:24), through circumstances, or through other people.

REFUGE

We know that God has promised to be our refuge—our protection. He hasn’t promised a troublefree life. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need a shelter. But God gives us peace and the assurance of his love and presence in our lives even during difficult circumstances. The protection God offers is protection for our souls.

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge can fill up a person’s mind, but the beginning of true knowledge and wisdom is the fear of the Lord—understanding God and seeking to conform our lives to his. Knowledge is a good beginning, but wisdom is the application of knowledge to life. It is the skill of living sensibly. Knowledge is not wisdom until it is tapped into and acted upon.

ZEAL

Have you ever been carried away by passion for a cause? When you are so moved, you can hardly sit still; you just want to go out and do something—that’s zeal. As with all positive attributes, God is also our model for zeal. It is because of his zeal for righteousness that God must punish sin. It is because of God’s passionate love for people that he made the ultimate sacrifice to draw us to himself. We should have the same unquenchable drive for the things that God desires. If we are faithful in studying God’s Word and letting his Spirit interpret it for us, God will give us a passion for the things he loves.

KNEEL

Kneeling is an old, traditional gesture of reverence. This position is still appropriate to show fear of and reverence to God. The book of Psalms says we should kneel before the Lord our Maker while worshiping him, physically recognizing his superiority over us. Kneeling is sometimes done during prayer as an expression of humility while talking to the almighty God. Sometime in the future, the Bible says that everyone—even those who refused to follow the Lord—will kneel before Jesus Christ and acknowledge that he is God, finally giving him the total worship he deserves.

AMEN

This word can be an answer or a word of praise. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as “the Amen” (Revelation 3:14). He is the answer to all of God’s promises. Jesus is the final word, and it is through his intercession and his name that we pray to the Father. That’s the reason we say “Amen” after we pray. We end our prayers with this affirmation o say, in essence, “Yes, this is what I believe; so be it.”