Rethink Prayer By Pete BriscoeSample

Prayer is an Intimate, Ongoing Conversation

There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we can be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs, but deep within, behind the scenes at a profounder level we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. —Thomas Kelly, Testament of Devotion

Sometimes my family and I hold hands around the dinner table at the end of the day, closing our eyes and bowing our heads, thanking God for a table full of food, a family that loves each other, and a life worth dying for.

On Sundays, I ask everyone to bow their heads, and we ask that God would teach us. At the end of the sermon, we bow our heads again, close our eyes, and ask God to apply what we have learned. And sometimes in my office alone, I get on my knees and raise my empty hands toward heaven, focusing solely on intimate conversation with a God who loves me.

I’m all for structured times of prayer. But my friend, “prayer” is in no way limited by the words squished between “Dear God…” and “Amen.” Prayer can be a never-ceasing intimate conversation with the One who loves us. Consider these Scriptural truths:

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“…the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you…” (Romans 8:11)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18)

“Walk by the Spirit…” (Galatians 5:16)

Just as you walk in the Spirit moment by moment, you can continually pray in the Spirit—always rejoicing, always giving thanks in never-ceasing communication with Him—even as you go about your day and other duties.

Today, I’m not going to close with a structured prayer. Instead, I challenge you to begin a natural, ongoing conversation with God right now! Amen?