If we were forced to pray every day we might feel like it’s a chore, but prayer is a choice, and because it’s a choice, it’s more about partnership. Prayer comes out of the overflow of a relationship with God. Just like you might call a friend up regularly to see how they are doing, a similar desire to pray regularly comes up when we are devoted to having a relationship with God. Whilst being a spiritual discipline, it becomes something very natural and instinctual in our lives.
I know. All of us have crazy, busy lives these days, and trying to allot specific amounts of time every day for prayer is great but not always feasible. As soon as something happens to one of the kids or you get called in to work early, your prayer time goes out the window, giving you a big, fat excuse to feel—CONDEMNED!
God wants a living, breathing relationship with YOU. The last thing He wants is for you to dread talking to Him. Prayer can be as simple as that—talking to God. There are a lot of things that can hinder our communication with God, but here are some ways you can actually make your time with God more like a partnership than a chore.
- Remember, God is your friend A true friend accepts you just as you are. You don’t have to put on an act. You just talk to them about anything and everything, anytime and anywhere. It’s the same with God. Take off the mask and talk to Him like a friend; He knows what’s behind it and loves you anyway! Jesus says in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
- Know He not only hears—He pays attention. Psalm 66:19 (NKJV): “But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.” You can “hear” a lot, but to actually pay attention is a whole different ball game. Your Father loves talking to you, so He pays attention, again—to anything and everything, anytime and anywhere!
- If you don’t know, He does. John 16:13 says the Holy Spirit will guide us “into all truth.” And this doesn’t just mean super-spiritual things. A friend wanted to change out her bathroom sink and faucet but didn’t think she could … They look beautiful and work perfectly, thanks to our Comforter—and even Plumber! He can show you—anything and everything, anytime and anywhere.
- God appreciates thankfulness Have a read of Luke 17:11-19 and look for Jesus’ response to the one leper who after realising he was healed returned to Jesus to give thanks and praise to God.
- Be aware of Him—anytime and anywhere. He will “never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Now, don’t get condemned. It takes practice to be aware of His presence, and nobody’s perfect at it. But if you talk to Him throughout the day about what’s happening in that moment, your relationship will grow stronger every day, and you’ll find that you’ve been “praying” all day long—about anything and everything, anytime and anywhere!
So when you go to pray, remember you have a Friend who’s closer than a brother, who is with you all the time. When something happens in your day that you don’t “get,” you can just turn to Him and say, “What was THAT about, God?” And don’t be surprised when He gives you the answer! Prayer is a partnership.