The great Creator God—who made everything and is calling you to be a part of His family forever—is eager and anxious for you to talk to Him!

If you are going to be one of His sons or daughters forever, then it is important for you to learn how to communicate with your Heavenly Father.

God communicates with us through the Bible. Every word of Scripture is “breathed by God” and inspired for us (2 Timothy 3:16). As we read and study God’s Word, we need to understand that it is a personal message for each of us. However, communication is a two-way street. God also wants us to talk to Him. Prayer is personal, intimate communication with the supreme Father of the universe.

God wants you to tell Him—as you would a close friend—how you feel, what you need and what you think. You can do this through heartfelt prayer. Prayer is our part of the two-way conversation with God. God speaks to us through the Bible, and we speak to Him through prayer. In this way we get to know God, and He comes to know us. The Bible shows us how this process works.

Here are some basic principles to guide you in prayer:

1. Know that God delights in the prayers of those who seek to please Him and do His will

Proverbs 15:8 tells us: “The prayer of the upright is His delight.” Your Heavenly Father wants you to pray to Him and is delighted when you do! He is always available and wants to listen to you.

2. Be confident that God hears your prayers

1 John 5:14 tells us, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”

Our Savior and Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, who spoke often to His Heavenly Father, had absolute confidence that God always heard His prayers. In John 11:42, He said to our Father, “I know that You always hear Me.”

3. Pray in a private place

In Matthew 6:6, Jesus told His disciples, “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” It is important to pray in a private place— perhaps in a bedroom, a spare room, or even a closet. This will make it easier to concentrate and avoid distraction, and you will know that your prayers are heard. Private time with God is very important, and will become even more so as the years pass.

4. Set aside a regular time to pray

For many people, the morning is best—before your school day or work day gets started. Jesus Christ spent the first part of His day in prayer, before anything else could interrupt Him. Notice Mark 1:35: “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed.” The prophet Daniel had a well-known schedule of praying three times a day: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:10). Even the threat of death did not cause Daniel to change his prayer habit!

5. Follow the guideline prayer that Jesus gave us

Notice how Jesus began His sample prayer: “Our Father in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Jesus instructed us to pray to the Father in His name (John 16:23). Give honor to God and acknowledge His greatness and the blessings He has given to us. Pray for God’s Kingdom to come to this earth. Next comes the hard part—seeking God’s will. God’s will for you is to be a part of His family (John 6:40). But it also includes being patient and continuing to live according to His laws and commandments. Romans 2:7 tells us we can have the promise of “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” Ask God in your daily prayers for help, to supply your daily needs and for the needs of others. When praying, acknowledge your shortcomings and ask for forgiveness. We must also learn to forgive others who might have offended us. In Luke’s account of the example prayer, he concludes this way: “And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Luke 11:4). We should pray for help in avoiding sin each day and in learning how to forgive others.

6. Read the Bible out loud as you pray, discussing the concepts and meaning of each verse

This can be an effective tool when learning to communicate with your Creator. Start with the Psalms, reading perhaps 10 or 12 verses each day as you conclude your prayer. The psalms address every human emotion we experience—the highs of joy, the depths of despair and everything in between. God shows us how to deal with every aspect of life in this wonderful book of prayers and songs! Many also use the book of Proverbs as a guide. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs—enough to read one each day of the month. The wisdom you will learn by reading Proverbs over and over is beyond measure. Reading it out loud as you pray and asking God to help you to absorb this wisdom will result in an incredible benefit for you, both as a person and as a member of God’s family.

The prayers of Daniel are an excellent outline of how to communicate with God, as are the prayers of Paul, Nehemiah and others. Read them as if they were your own and apply them to the circumstances you face now. You will be amazed at how you can relate to them!

7. Never be afraid to pray, and always remember the God we serve wants to hear your prayers

God describes Himself to us this way: “Merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). And Psalm 145:18 says: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”