A Change in Prayer

I have found myself thinking a lot about prayer lately, and I've come to the realization that I've been thinking so much about it because of the guilt I feel because of my prayer life. I'm going to be honest and say that the extent of my prayer life lately has been saying a few words to God before I fall asleep at night. Sometimes I think we get the wrong idea of prayer. We see the Precious Moments pictures of the little children kneeling before their beds at night and that is the image in our head of how prayer is supposed to be. Or maybe we hear ministers prayer an eloquent prayer and it makes us feel as if our own words are inadequate. We have the idea that prayer is the act sitting alone with your eyes closed and head bowed and going through the routine of repentance, confession, and acceptance. Although I believe this type of prayer is entirely necessary, I feel that there are various routes you can take when praying.

A lot of times, I forget to pray. I think that its the times when God blesses us so wonderfully that we do forget to pray. Sometimes I forget that prayer is so much more than just asking for things that we need. Prayer is a simple means of communication to the one who gave us life. Sometimes it seems ridiculous to sit there talking to a God who already knows what your about to say. It sounds strange and Innecessary, but it's not. It's not because its a way to enhance our relationship with Christ by pouring out our soul to someone who will actually listen and not think any less of you. I'm not the kind of person who really likes to talk about myself or my problems. Sometimes my parents think that I don't tell them anything, but really it's just that most things I don't talk about to anyone. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to realize that this is probably not the best thing. But I do feel like if I can first reveal myself to God, then I may be able to reveal myself to others more easily.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I want a change in my prayer life. I want it to be more than just saying a couple of things before I go to bed. I want to wake up in the morning and thank God that for the beauty of the world he created right outside my window. And when I walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I want to thank him for giving me legs to carry myself. And when I get bored I want to engross myself in His word and ask for wisdom to comprehend what I read. I want to finish reading a good book and thank Him for giving people such a remarkable gift of words for me to enjoy. And at the end of the day, I want to fall asleep telling Him about what is going on in my life because that's what I often do with my best friend.

Like I said, I believe it is sometimes necessary to have a rutine form of prayer; but sometimes I think people get so caught up in that and they forget what the purpose of prayer is. It is to give us a personal relationship with our Maker, and I think we should take every opportunity to make that stronger.

~*Elizabeth