5 Things I keep in mind while praying

This week a co-worker told me, "you pray the longest prayers."

I've been a Christ-follower for 18 years but I've been praying my whole life.

I remember before I surrendered my life to Jesus and received his leadership in my life, I would lay in bed and pray for help. I vividly remember praying one night as a ten year old asking God to keep us safe. You see I was living in Germany at the time and President Reagan had ordered the bombing of Libya. I was convinced by others we would be the prime location for a counter attack.

Since then, I've prayed many prayers in the shower, on the road, with the church, in hospital rooms, on the ball field, in bed with my wife, with & for the kids, in meetings, etc. Yet even with all the praying I've done, I'll admit it's a bit of a mystery.

I wrestle with the words and emotions I express in my prayers. I have wondered if I'm just talking to myself. I even question what right I have to ask God for the things I do. In spite of all of that I still pray.

One of the challenges of prayer is seeing them answered. After all, if we risk praying and what we pray for doesn't happen, what does that mean? Is it better to just skip the prayer, in case you ask for something stupid and God gets angry?

Even still, I keep praying.

Here are somethings I keep in mind when I'm praying.

1. I start with a sense of who I'm speaking with.

It's important to keep in mind that you and I are not merely telling God things, but rather prayer is a conversation with God. That means just as I need to share what has happened in my day or what's going on, I also need to make time to listen to him. After all, he is the creator, redeemer, restorer of all I see and know.

2. I practice thanksgiving.

A key element in my time of prayer is offering thanks. I express my thanks to God for his provision in life. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking I make things happen, but I need to remember God is at work.

3. I talk about what and who I see.

That means sometimes, actually a lot of the time, I pray with my eyes open. This can be distracting at times and even take away from the formality and mysticism of prayer, but I find it really helps the "nowness" of prayer.

4. I seek to bless God and others.

This is harder to explain without it sounding like I'm praying for the appeal of those listening, but I consider those I'm in the presence of when I'm praying aloud. I want God to be blessed and I want to offer blessings to others.

5. I remember that "amen" means "so be it!"

It is not uncommon for us to pray and say "amen" to close out the prayer in a way we might hang up the phone at the end of a conversation. Instead I see it more like the athletic team preparing to take the field. They've huddled up, placed their hands on top of one another, spoken words of inspiration and challenge, cry out really loud, and then take the field. Amen is an announcement of let it happen, let's do it, make it so! (Thank Jean-Luc).

There is much more to prayer than what I've got here, but maybe this will help you in your prayer life. My co-worker who I mentioned at the top, she not only expressed how long my prayers were, but she added, "I don't know how you just talk like that." Maybe this helps!?