“In this manner, therefore, pray: . . . “   ~Matthew 6:9

In this verse Jesus is telling His disciples how they should pray. It’s better known as the Lord’s Prayer. He is giving them this example of how they should pray, but He first prefaces it with some very important advice, He tells them to go to a quiet place where they can be alone with God.

We need to understand that prayer isn’t just folding your hands and worshipping God, it’s talking to Him about every single thing in your life—talking to Him all day long, and coming straight from the heart!

I talk to Him in my thoughts all the time, especially when I’m alone through this continual conversation. I deliberately create situations where it’s quiet with no interruptions.

I have some of my best conversations with my Creator in my car while I’m driving, (no radio) or in the kitchen, while I’m cooking, (no T.V.), in the backyard mowing the lawn, (no headphones) and even while I’m in the bathroom, (no reading). Pretty much anytime I’m alone and in a quiet place.

Do I still have my hands folded, eyes closed, times of deep heartfelt prayer? Absolutely! Sometimes I just sit and pray for everyone and everything in my life. There is a time and a place for, what I call, formal prayer, but I do so love my walk-about, talk-about time with the Lord. And so does He because He wants our hearts.

I use to think I needed to say this long, fancy, formal prayer for God to hear me. I thought I needed to be able to pray like the preachers do, with this big, long, articulate combination of words, but that’s simply not true. We just need to talk to Him the same way we talk to our best friend—with all our heart and soul. We need to reach out to Him with all our emotions—tears and whimpers, laughter and joy—with everything we've got to give.

What other instructions does God give us regarding prayer? Jesus told His disciples to pray in gratitude as if they had already received what they were asking for. We too must believe with all our hearts that God can and will answer our heartfelt prayers, always accepting that He knows what's best.

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”   ~Mark 11:24

​But I can do it myself!

No you can't! We need to get this crazy thought our of our heads once and for all. We must go to God in every situation, whether good or bad, happy or sad. He wants to hear from us regarding every aspect of our lives—our hopes and fears, our gratitudes and sorrows, as well as our grips and anger. He wants it all, every single drop of the emotion and passion that compels us.

It all goes back to the relationship that He longs to have with us. He wants this non-stop communication with every single one of His children.

Think of it this way . . . if you're a parent, is there anything in the world more important than your kids? Don’t you want them to call you for any reason? Doesn't it light up your heart when they call or stop by just to tell you how much they love you? Well, God feels the same way about us.

“Pray without ceasing”   ~1 Thessalonians 5:17

In this little, tiny verse, Paul is telling us to never stop praying. That clearly tells me that we should talk to God continually. He sticks this warning right at the end of a long list of exhortations. He is telling his fellow Christians what they need to do as the second coming of Jesus rapidly approaches. Here’s the entire list: comfort each other, teach one another, be at peace, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, be patient, pursue what is good, rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in everything. . . for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This lengthy list ends with Paul identifying exactly who’s desiring all these things for us . . . God! So there it is, this verse is telling us in no uncertain terms that it is the will of God that we talk to Him continually.

And here again, God tells us the same thing . . .

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.”   ~Philippians 4:6

And again . . .

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving”   ~Colossians 4:2

All you have to do is Google prayer Bible verses and you will quickly discover that God definitely wants us to talk to Him!

“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.”   ~Romans 12:12

Did you catch the end of that last verse . . . to be steadfast in prayer? Steadfast is a very interesting word, it means: loyal, committed, devoted, dedicated and determined.

There’s no doubt about it, God wants us to pray and communicate with Him all the time! He wants us to be as dedicated and committed to Him, as He is to us.

“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”   ~Luke 18:1 NIV