Prayer

This evening, I read a post at Reflectionary about prayer. It started me thinking about conversations with God. I've been on a journey the last few years, and I have learned a few things about myself and my ways of communicating with God.

• Prayer doesn't often just happen. I have to be deliberate about it; I have to remember to do it, or it doesn't get done.
• Sometimes the best prayer is to just sit quietly in the presence of God -- another thing I have to do deliberately.
• There is great joy in praying with friends and for friends. Being lifted up to God by friends is another great joy.
• Once I quit worrying about it, I found that God was enabling me to pray for a group with no preparation. Spontaneous prayer is a gift -- one I wasn't willing to accept until a few years ago.
• Prayer can be very deliberate putting of words together or it can be "thinking" in the presence of God and allowing him to lead my thoughts.
• Prayer -- I need to do it more; I need to find more reasons for it.