Luke 6:45 (NLT) says: “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” For decades, many people have verbalized this statement: “I am just praying from my heart.” And yes, that is a good thing—at times! However, as a continuous approach, it leaves us to ponder: “What is the source of the outflow of their heart?”
Generations prior to today learned to pray simply from their hearts, which was a very good thing! However, the past few generations (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha) have not been in similar spiritual arenas of training to fill their hearts with the things of the Lord. Therefore, the question now comes before us: “What drives the heart’s cry of this generation?” Is it the Word of the Lord or a secularistic indoctrination?
For instance, many people in the generations listed above have not been taught the Word of God in religious forums such as Sunday school, church Bible studies, small group Bible studies, Bible colleges, etc. Hence, many are not versed in the Word of God at all. And now, with limited attendance to church services, many are also not hearing the exposition of the Word from the pulpit. They are not open to gaining an understanding of the Word rightly divided (2 Timothy 2:15). Additionally, many people have not opened themselves to personal application of the Word in their daily lives, as 1 Peter 1 suggests. Sunday night services offered the opportunity to linger in the presence of the Lord, teaching folks to develop their spiritual understanding and ability to hear God’s voice. Without these services, confident prayer has diminished.
Nowadays, we seldom share testimonies about overcoming life tragedies and trials with truths and triumphs because of the power of God. This lack has left a vacuum in people recognizing how God demonstrates His power in the lives of all who believe.
Prayer Is Taught as Well as Caught!
The disciples were with Jesus for three and a half years. Their urgent plea to Him, after observing Him preach and pray regularly? “Teach us to pray!”
Interestingly, although they journeyed with Jesus, John the Baptist’s disciples seemed to be able to pray more effectively than them (Luke 11:1). They desired to be like John’s disciples, praying more powerfully like their Master. They had relied on Jesus to do all the praying, but now they desired to learn for themselves. This was a powerful and pivotal moment because Jesus acknowledged their need and provided them with a lasting gift—a tool that would sustain them, and that guides us through life to this day.
Jesus’s Model of Prayer
Luke 11:1-4 (NLT) is not just a Scripture passage to recite—which has its own effectiveness—it is a model, a prototype, a formula for developing prayers:
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
This model prayer gives guidance on how to pray effectively, navigating thoughts, topics, needs, etc. It is simultaneously a directive on developing “prayers from the heart” and “a heart for praying.” This directive leads one from private prayers to public praying!
Preparation for Public Prayer
It is not the formula that leads to power in praying, but consistent personal prayer times, which give confidence during public prayer times. Elijah prayed nearly 60 words, and fire came out of heaven (1 Kings 18:36-38). It was not the momentary public prayer that demonstrated his faith—it was the life of private prayer and the preparedness in praying that mattered when he stood before the people! Let us model for the next generations how to be prepared in prayer.
Just Talk to God – But Speak with Intentionality
Prayer should never be a competition, but must always be a learning tool. When prayer is spoken with intentionality and thoughtfulness, the outflow of the heart tends to be more Word-driven, faith-filled, and yet naturally conversational. While we must reverence the Lord when we pray, God does not require lofty words and accolades that are a mere mantra; the heartfelt understanding of who He is and what He does for His children resonates both on earth and in heaven.
Priorities for Teaching the Next Generation to Pray
As we teach the next generation to pray privately and publicly, here are some recommendations to consider:
Make It Easy
- We are all just talking to God in the language that we understand best, and such conversation should be very natural—a discourse between friends.
- Perfection is not required; therefore, if a person stumbles over their words, others should encourage them with vocal affirmations while they pray.
- Jesus prayed with ease and taught His disciples to pray without judgment (Matthew 26:41-45).
Make It Concise
- Jesus’s stories in the New Testament can sometimes be long; however, His teaching on prayer was quite short. I can personally attest that keeping public prayer times short helps newer and younger people learn to pray.
- Brevity pulls out brilliance in prayer, as folks will concentrate on what they are to pray, rather than rambling on to impress listeners.
Make It Scriptural
- Prayer times should not become a preaching discourse. A simple verse or passage on healing, miracles, signs and wonders, the powers of Jehovah, etc., can stimulate faith in what is being prayed for (see Daniel 9:4).
Make It Relevant
- Prayer has many levels as prescribed in Jesus’s teaching. When training others to pray, it is incumbent on the teacher to bring out the relevant things in society that must be prayed for. This guards believers against only seeking for self or praying amiss. Focused prayer for others is intercession, and intercession means praying ardently for all types of needs (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
Make It Inspirational
- Jesus was never boring; He did everything with passion. Placing heartfelt passion into your prayers is personally advantageous. It stimulates the heart to rejoice, to ponder God’s goodness, and to focus more on what they are praying for and the One they are praying to—no drifting!
- Since there are many modes for prayer, employ them all. Too much of any one thing is simply too much! We can learn a lot from Nehemiah’s prayers.
Make It Comfortable for All to Participate
- The decline of prayer in the church, I believe, came about when we created special prayer heroes. This resulted in fear amongst those who didn’t see themselves as “mighty prayer warriors.”
- It’s imperative that we learn to be teachers, risk takers and encouragers in prayer, unashamedly allowing the next generation to pray publicly, even while they are still learning to develop in their prayer life privately.
Make It Preparatory
- In the Old Testament, priests had to prepare for intercession and service. They had to light the lamp, bring in the bread, and conduct other such duties. As leaders, it is now incumbent upon us to prepare folks to come and pray weekly.
Experience Is a Great Teacher
In 2017, when I assumed the lead pastor role at my current church, I found a maximum of 14 intercessors meeting weekly for prayer times in the boardroom. Most often, it was these faithful ones who pressed through in prayer for the church. However, some of the prayer times were spent with much pontification in some very long prayers. I personally felt the prayer room had lost its ability to be a welcoming place that would encourage growth in the next generation.
Jesus selected 12 very different disciples and taught them to pray. He did not select only those versed in the Torah, nor the singular person known to all as an intercessor. He taught them all to pray and to become His disciples.
I refused to embrace the system of “prayer warriors in a prayer room.” Instead, I painstakingly opened the church auditorium for prayer, making it a priority. It took precedence over many other activities, which the church members felt were essential and required my attention. Regardless of the pushback, I led this prayer meeting weekly and taught others how to lead along with me.
Within a year, 60-80 people were attending every Tuesday. During the pandemic, prayer moved online and grew to 80-100 people or families every week.
Continue to Develop Prayer
After COVID-19, we saw an increase in online and in-person participants. Now in 2025, we consistently range anywhere from 80 to 120 people for Tuesday night prayer, with an additional 60+ people online.
Development in prayer does not come from where the prayer is being held, but instead from the topical nuggets and leader-points given to those called on to pray weekly. The key to this, however, is not just facilitating a system to pray with direction. We are also strict about time consciousness.
Our numeric growth has stemmed from not allowing anyone to pray more than three to five minutes. In the beginning, some people were offended because we rang a bell to alert each person that their time was up! Now, most people instinctively know when their time has elapsed.
This system has caused folks to have much more confidence to pray publicly. There is more structure in their prayers, and far more depth in praying heartfelt but biblical prayers. Most will pray attentively for the topic without wandering in thought to “visit” all the other “issues of their heart.” This system has led to unity and greater agreement in prayer!
This time-conscious system has also enabled us to develop more young adults, youth and children who pray publicly. They join us happily and pray very boldly! Since language has changed, prayer styles must also change to engage the next generation.
Prayer Modules for Anyone Who Desires Them!
I would love to share one to two months’ worth of prayer points, should any church desire to use this system to help develop prayer in their church. If you are courageous and confident enough to implement the three-to-five-minute rule, I have proven that you will see growth in public praying in your church, especially in the next generation.
For the sample prayer schedule, contact info@ppclife.ca.
Marie Miller is the lead pastor of Pickering Pentecostal Church in Pickering, Ont. Visit www.ppclife.ca.
This article appeared in the October/November/December 2025 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2025 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.
Home page photo by Tom Ramalho on Unsplash. Photo above by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash.