Prayer Patterns

I cannot imagine my life without prayer. I cannot imagine my parents lives without prayers. They were/are my number one prayer warriors. I never thought about how comforting that was until I lost my dad. It was really devastating when I thought about how much he prayed for my family and I. I think praying parents is one of the biggest treasures that I was handed down.

Prayer is a huge part of my life. I talk to God all day - any time I want. 1 Thessalonians 5: 17, "...pray continually...." Years ago I prayed at bedtime but you know how that ends. I wake up and it is morning. Now at night I just thank God for the gift of the day and ask Him to give us rest and to watch over our family while we sleep.

I start my prayers telling God how much I love and adore Him. But I have to be careful that that does not become habit and have no emotion and I do not think about it! Lately, I have been telling him, "God, I do not take this for granted. I do love you. I do adore you and I cannot imagine life without you! I learned to start my prayers with praise. The next part is confession. I confess my need for forgiveness. Then I thank Him for blessings! Lastly, I lift up the prayer requests.

I pray about anything. God can handle all of it...mine and yours. I pray for His guidance, for little things on my mind or big things on my mind. I ask Him to keep me from temptations. I pray in traffic thanking Him if he is keeping me from an accident. I pray for an ambulance or firetruck and the person they are helping. I pray and ask God to not let me get in the way of His work. I ask Him to let me be a witness for Him. I ask Him to keep my mouth shut. I ask Him to let me see some people the way He does if I am having an issue with them. Anytime I see a person walking I ask God to bless them. I pray for little things like before I walk into a store I always ask Him to help me use my time and money wisely. If I am booking a trip I always send up a prayer for the safety of the airlines, hotel and the area where we are staying. And I cannot tell you how many times I have prayed for pets! And there are always our loved ones prayer requests and concerns. We pray before any meal. God says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6: 18

Prayer is a two way conversation with God. It is the way our soul communicates with God. When we pray we are acknowledging that we need God. I don't know if I will ever sit and listen as long as I should. But that is important! Prayer is not an activity for God. Prayer gives us power for our life.

We desire to connect with our Creator. Acknowledge God's presence everywhere you go.

He wants us to spend time with Him. When we do spend time with Him we find strength, faith and joy. The we grow spiritually, the more God entrusts with us. We begin to experience life the way God wants us to experience life. The more time you spend with God the more it becomes a priority.

Develop a prayer life with God. It is just like being with a best friend but better! Talk, listen, learn things about each other, find out likes and dislikes, and try to do pleasing things. The more time spent together the more intimately you know your friend, the greater your love will be. The same is true with God. The depth of your relationship with God is up to you. He has no favorites.