Henry Blackaby authored the book called Experiencing God and it speaks to the importance of prayer. He makes numerous points from his experience of being devoted to prayer. He said his greatest moments of experiencing God came through his times of prayer. From that experience he saw God at work doing things in his life when he was faithful to praying and more importantly, he felt more aligned with God when he was praying and listening to God’s response.

God requires our attention. When I do not sense the Holy Spirit, it is time to pray. This is certainly a challenging thought worth considering.

I often need reminding that prayer is a dialogue. God does not require us to do all the talking or to carry the conversation. In fact, prayer is as much about listening as it is expressing myself to God.

The key is maintaining an attitude of prayer is a mindset where I acknowledge His presence is with me. I need to be careful not to ignore He is near. I need to be still to be filled. To quiet myself long enough to hear His still small voice. Staying close to Him to hear the whispers in my ear. Most often it is just a word that comes to my mind from this time.

God encourages us to ask, to share and to express ourselves to Him. He wants us to invite Him into the conversation. He is a gentleman and does not force His way or methods upon us. We are free to converse, or we may be distracted by the input of other things.

When He speaks, how does He do so? It is easy to overlook the fact that He speaks to us through Scripture. Hearing from Him through His word is in fact an act of prayer. We hear from His living word through the Scriptures. He communicates to us through the Bible.

He speaks to us through worship, times of song, music, praise, expression, and awe. It might be at a gathering of the Church, during a walk along the beach or during the drive home from work. Where we worship it is not limited by space, proximity, or method. Our very work can serve as an act of worship when we dedicate what we do to Him. It pleases Him.

He speaks to us through His creation. The world God has knitted together proclaims His presence. He speaks, through the eyes of a person, the majesty of an amazing sunset or a billboard that shares a phrase that sends a clear answer to a question you have shared with Him. He communicates in many ways. God is not limited by our imaginations. He is the God of wonder! All of creation proclaims His glory. Look for it in His creation, it is everywhere.

As we consider the full meaning of prayer and acknowledge all the ways that it is possible, we begin to better understand what is meant by praying without ceasing. The opportunities to participate in prayer surround us. We need not only bend our knees to connect to the God of the universe we simply need to acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He will direct our paths. He desires to participate in our life.

As you go about your day, do not just think about things, pray about things. Turn your thoughts into a conversation, a prayer, which opens the dialogue with the most amazing friend, companion, and God we could ever hope to know, love, and experience.

Let us pray! Heavenly Father, help me this week to be in a continuous conversation with You as I go about my days in Jesus’ name, Amen!