Day 24: Talk to Him

Praying daily has been an interesting, exciting, and at times a difficult experience. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1981. I knew nothing of personal prayer and learned little about it for several years. A little over 20 years ago I wanted to know more about what the Bible said than I was getting at church once a week, and so I began a daily journey of reading the Bible that continues today. I am not sure when I began praying daily, but I know my decision was influenced by the Holy Spirit and by my Bible reading. No specific verse or story.

I began clumsily, with short prayers of only a couple of minutes. I am an introvert by nature and starting a conversation with someone I do not know very well is always difficult. The Creator of Heaven and Earth was no exception. In time though, I began to notice that my time in prayers was getting longer, the conversation was getting deeper, the questions were more probing.

I began to notice changes in me that were both exciting and a little scary. Scary, because I recognized that my world view was changing; at the time, I had not realized it needed changing. God knew, and that was exciting. As He continued His work of molding and shaping me, I began seeking Him more.

Praying daily has its up and downs; sometimes I am just going through the motions, or there are life changes that interrupt my schedule (Deni described this dilemma so well in an earlier devotion). Sometimes I am distracted or just not listening (my wife would affirm this). But I have learned that God is always present, and He always hears. He may be silent for a while, but He always hears. I appreciate that about Him.

One of my favorite inspirations for prayer comes from an unusual character in the Bible - not someone we look to very often. Nehemiah was neither a king nor a priest. He was more of a common man, who rose to be a cup bearer to a Persian king, and as such became a confidant to the king, who appointed him as Governor over Jerusalem and Judah at a crucial time in the history of that city, because he was a man of integrity. His integrity was grounded in his relationship with God. Nehemiah never says he prayed daily, but as I looked at how he prayed (Neh. 1:5-11) and when he prayed (Neh. 2:4, 6:9), it is clear he had an on going relationship with God; the kind of relationship that is built on regular, daily prayer.

There is much about prayer in the Bible and many prayers to look to for a road map or beginning point. But God really is not looking for model prayers from us. He is just waiting for us to be willing to talk to Him.

~Dick Tatton