What If His People Prayed?

Ok, this is a bit more serious than I usually blog about, but this subject has really been on my heart recently.

This summer has been such a growing and learning experience for me, especially in my walk with God. I have come to know Him so much more intimately than I thought possible and I'm loving it. And prayer is a subject that I feel God is really leading me and teaching me in.

I just typed the word prayer into BibleGateway.com and there were 362 results. So prayer is obviously important if the Word of God feels the need to mention it 362 times. Sometimes I feel though that prayer is just one of those chores. I come to God with a list of things to talk about and to ask for and then we're done. I pray before dinner and before bed and of course before the Lord's Supper. I pray desperately when I need to find something I've lost or when I need direct answers. But I think that prayer is supposed to be much, much more than that.

So many times Jesus went off by himself to pray. The night he was betrayed he was definitely praying pretty hard. I think that prayer is supposed to be intimate conversation with our Father. Ok, I know that most of the people that read my blog are married but stretch your mind for one second back to before that time. Remember when you were in the first stages of a relationship? Like the kind where you've only hung out a couple times and you seriously can't wait til the next time you can see them again. You want to talk to them all the time. ALL THE TIME! You want their opinion on everything. You just love to hear the sound of their voice, no matter what they're saying. Basically, you're completely infatuated and you want to spend every waking second with them. I think that's how prayer is supposed to be.

This summer, more than ever before, I've come to know prayer as an intimate and wonderful time with my Creator. I look forward to it and long for it. But there are still times when I revert back to my grocery-list prayers. And my heart breaks when I realize that I've neglected intimate time with my Lord.

One last quick thing (sorrry I know this has been a super long post). About two months ago I asked a friend to pray for me. Her immediate response was "I LOVE PRAYING!" She then asked me what I needed prayers for and even followed up later. But that quick response was what stuck with me and what has ultimately changed me. I love praying. I have started more and more to absolutely love praying. Absolutely adore it.

What if His people prayed? What if we all fell in love with our Father again and started having conversations with Him all the time?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this incredibly long post. Hope you all have a great week!!! 8 days til Sooner!