PRAYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE - For Fiona - You and Your Prayers

Oct 13, 2026

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The text presents devotional guidance for young people on how to pray, emphasizing closeness to God and practical everyday communication. It teaches that God invites prayer directly, using the familiar idea of “Abba, Father,” and illustrates simple, friendly conversation with God. It also explains that prayer should not feel unnatural or performative, and that believers do not need special words, places, or postures. The material further stresses trust in God’s willingness to give and God’s deeper knowledge of what is truly good.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages100

Reading Time4 h 12 min

AccessFree to download

You and Your Prayers

God wants us to pray to him

Prayer should be natural and easy

Do not squeeze things out of God

God knows what is good for us

WilliamBarclay FONTANA BOOKS3/6 # PRAYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Dr.Barclay is a distinguished scholar,anexceptionally gifted preacher and a regularbroadcaster.His writings for The BritishWeekly proved so popular that a full page isnow given to them.He is Professor ofDivinity and Biblical Criticism at GlasgowUniversity and is a member of the AdvisoryCommittee working on the new translationof the Bible.His extremely popular BibleStudy notes,using his own translation of theNew Testament,have already been pub-lished and achieved a world-wide sale. by the same author EDUCATIONAL IDEALS IN THE ANCIENT WORLDTHE PLAIN MAN's BOOK OF PRAYER(Cloth,imitation leather and Fontana Books) # MORE PRAYERS FOR THE PLAIN MAN(Fontana Books) THE PLAIN MAN LOOKS AT THE BEATITUDE8(Fontana Books) THE PLAIN MAN LOOKs AT THE LORD's PRAYER(Fontana Books) THE MIND OF ST。PAUL(Fontana Books) William Barclay has made two 12”L.P.re-cordings of the Lord's Prayer and the Beatitudeswhich are available from Christian RecordingsLtd.,88 Newman Street,London w.Y # Prayers forYoung People Collins FONTANA BOOKS First published by Wm.Collins Sons Co.Ltd.1963First issued in Fontana Books rg66Second Impression January r967Third Impression September r967Fourth impression August r968Fifth Impression February 1969 CONDITIONS OF SALE:This book is sold subjectto the condition that it shall not,by way of tradeor otherwise,be lent,re-sold,hired out or otherwisecirculated without the publisher's prior consent inany form of binding or cover other than that in whichit is published and without a similar conditionincluding this condition being imposed on the subsequentpurchaser ◎ William Barclay r963Printed in Great BritainCollins Clear-Type PressLondon and Glasgow # For Fiona You and Your Prayers Prayer is like any other great and valuable gift or posse-sion—we will never get the best and the most from it,unless we learn to use it aright.This means that thereare certain things which we must always bear in mindwhen we pray. i.The very first thing that we must remember is thatGod wants us to pray to him.There are times whenpeople make it quite clear that we are a nuisance to them,and when quite clearly they cannot be bothered with us.No one is ever a nuisance to God.Once when Jesustalked to God,he used a word to address God which tous is a foreign word.He called God,'Abba,Father(Mark 14:36).Afterwards Paul said that this word Abbais the word that any Christian can use when he talks toGod (Romans 8:15).It is just not possible to translatethis word Abba into English.It was the word which ayoung child used in Palestine in the time of Jesus whenhe talked to his father,just as to this day Arab boys andgirls call their father iaba.It is really the eastern wordfor Daddy.This means that we can talk to God just aseasily and just as simply as we talk to our own father inour own home. Once someone asked a wise man how to set aboutpraying.The wise man said:'Just take a chair and putit opposite you,and think to yourself that God is sittingon that chair,and just talk to him in the way that youwould talk to your closest friend.' Prayer should not be unnatural and difficult;it should # You and Tour Prayers be as natural and as easy as talking to the person youknow and love best of all. In prayer we do not need any special words or anyspecial language.We do not need to say 'thou'and'thee'.That is the way the Bible has it,because that isthe way in which people used ordinarily to talk long ago.We can use to God the same kind of language as we useevery day.We do not need to be in any special place topray.We can pray anywhere.Of course,it is easier topray in some places than it is in others.In a church orin a great cathedral we cannot help having a feeling ofreverence.But God is just as near us in a room in ourown home,on the street,in a class-room,on a playing-field,on a hill-top,as he is in any church or in anycathedral.We do not need to be in any special positio

FAQs

Why should young people pray to God in the first place?

The text says God wants people to pray to him and that no one is ever a nuisance to God. It frames prayer as direct communication with God’s closeness.

How does the text explain the meaning of “Abba, Father”?

It explains that “Abba” is a word addressable to God that Christians can use, not easily translated into English. It emphasizes that it reflects a child’s simple, intimate way of speaking to a father.

What does the text teach about whether prayer needs special words or special places?

It states that no special words or special language are required, and that people can pray anywhere. It also notes that feelings of reverence may differ by location, but God is near in all ordinary settings.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Aditya