Pray? I Don't Have Time To Eat!

Have you ever found yourself in condemnation over a less than perfect prayer life? Have you often committed yourself to so many minutes or even hours per day in prayer yet fallen short? Do you then become discouraged and give up trying for a period of time only to find the vicious cycle starting over again? If so, I want to encourage you today and prayerfully give you a new perspective on your prayer life. Are you willing to read on? Good!

Most of us are engaged in a preconceived set of thoughts when it comes to prayer. These thoughts are often woven into our lives at a very young age by parents, family, teachers and church. We specifically see prayer as a time of meditation and sacrifice. God however, sees prayer differently.

Prayer is defined by Webster's as: to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving.

We know that these four parts of prayer come from the example the Lord gave in Luke 11:2-4. Jesus gave us these words as a guide. We can learn how simple they are to use by reading throughout the bible.

According to the bible there are many different types of prayer. Prayer was not distinctly defined as setting time aside, entering into meditation, intercession, tongues and/or crying out intensely and petitioning God. These are all forms of prayer with Him but there is one that is so often overlooked, the one God desires most, the one most often written about in His Word. It is simply this… to always be aware of and acknowledge His presence. It is walking with Him as we would our husband, sister, or friend.

"Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him" Hosea 6:3

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven."
Matthew 10:32

When I wake up in the morning, before I even brush my teeth, I say good morning to Him. When I see a beautiful landscape while driving I make sure I praise Him for it. When I need to make a decision I ask Him to help me. When I realize I need money for a bill I ask Him to supply it and then thank Him for it. When I realize I messed up, I ask for His forgiveness. I ask Him to keep me away from tempting situations, to grant us safe trips, to keep Satan and his cohorts away and when I am studying His Word I ask Him to explain to me what I don’t yet understand. I do set aside times for other forms of prayer but I don’t need to do it as often as I had previously because now I realize that I am truly always in prayer with Him.

I have had people look at me funny because I stopped in the middle of a conversation with them to say, “Alright God. I get it!” Or in the midst of waiting for my turn to vote today I said, “God help me out here because I am not sure about a couple of these.”

>> By the way God... THANK YOU so much for our new governor Bobby Jindal!<<

That was a form of praying. See, I acknowledge and talk to Him whenever I desire to. I don’t bother myself with what others think because I am talking to my Father, my friend. He always answers with revelation, a touch, joy, peace or an overwhelming sense of His love for me.

"Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them." Malachi 3:16

Even when we talk to our friends, God hears. Why? He is always there beside us. He is your best friend. The two of you are inseparable. He is just waiting for you to realize it. Walk with Him the way Adam, David, Noah, Jesus and Paul did. This form of prayer allows us to succeed at what we once thought to be impossible:

"Pray without ceasing."
1 Thessalonians 5:17

Walk with God today. He is missing you!

I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31