There is no right or wrong way to pray, prayer is simply an opportunity to connect with your heavenly Father on a personal level. It is talking to God.

Jesus himself gave an example of how to pray.

In a book in the Bible called Luke, we read how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He literally said, “When you pray, say this.” And he goes on to say what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” The Gospel of Matthew also mentions this story, so you can find the same prayer there as well.

In that prayer, Jesus covers so much ground with so few words. He tells them to address this eternal God—a perfect, holy God, who resides in heaven—as “Father.” It cleared up any confusion that may have existed in terms of who they should be praying to or how they should view God. Even though God is vastly different and greater than anything they could imagine, they were to think of him as a perfect heavenly Father, and that’s who they should pray to.

The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful portrait of how God is all-powerful and in a category of his own yet at the same time able to relate to us.

So today, take a moment to slowly and reflectively pray this to your heavenly Father.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.”

Tips for developing a prayer life:

-Talk to God daily

-Be open and honest

-Pray for others as well as yourself

-Find a quiet place

-Be in silence and solitude

If you download the Bible app, there are guided prayers on there! This could help you get started

The Bible’s truths and truthfulness have been demonstrated across history. Jesus on numerous occasions promised that he would reveal His truth so that we might have it in written form.

The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written over 1,600 years and by more than 40 different authors.

There are a vast number of ancient manuscripts to backup the authenticity of the written scripture and the text of the Bible is extremely well attested.

1. Schedule your Bible reading time

2. Choose a Bible reading plan

3. Have a reading goal

4. Find a quiet place and set aside distractions

5. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate the scripture

If you are new to faith, start with one of the four first books of the New Testament.

Pick a good translation. We personally like to read a NIV or ESV translation of the Bible.

When Jesus was on Earth, He was fully God, but at the same time, he was fully human. He had a human body, emotions and experiences. To get the full picture of who Jesus is, we recommend to read the four gospels in the Bible; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

In Romans (one of the books of the Bible), it says that all of humanity are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. However Jesus, The Son of God, loved us all so much that He sacrificed His earthly body for us which meant that we could be made right with God again and have a personal relationship with Him.

At Suncoast, we believe that each person has a next step to take in their faith journey. There are so many options of next steps that can grow your faith. It could be doing the Alpha course, getting baptised, joining a connect group, or serving in a community; the options are endless! But by continuing to take next steps in your faith, it will grow your relationship with God and will help you know Him more.

We are each created by God and He wants the best for us, so desires to guide us in our lives.

The most common ways He can guide us and we can hear from Him is through reading the Bible and through prayer.