Day 5 - Prayer

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

In the most straightforward words, prayer is talking with God. It is important to know that God hears you and cares for you, which is why He wants you to start speaking with Him regularly.

Prayer is a mighty thing – it is speaking the language of Heaven. Think about prayer like when you learned to speak your first words as a child. You didn’t know many words, and fumbled through them, but your parents were excited to hear you say anything remotely like speech! You kept building on those words until you had more of them until you spoke them more clearly and then started intentionally growing your vocabulary. The same is true for your prayers. Right now, all you might know to say is, “Thank you, God,” or “I need you.” Those are great prayers! But don’t stop there - keep building.

One of the reasons we talked about our Bible yesterday is because Scriptures make for great prayers and help us grow in our prayers. Try taking your daily Bible reading and making it part of your prayer to God.

Finding a set time every day to pray will help you with consistency and make it a priority in your life. Part of the great thing about prayer is that you can talk to God throughout your day as well. Scripture even encourages us to “pray continually.”

When you aren’t sure where to start, start with thankfulness. We can thank God for many things, and it is good to remind ourselves of how good He has been to us! Take time to listen quietly to what God is saying to you. And just like any good conversation, talking is only one side of the deal. These thoughts are great things to write in your daily reflection and look back on to see His faithfulness and guidance in your life.

Build: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:6 or Psalms 145:8

Prayer– Dear God, thank you for wanting to speak with me. I want to speak with you too. Help me be devoted in prayer. Help me be alert and watchful of areas that I can bring to you in prayer, and help me keep an always-thankful heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.