Matthew 6:6 (ESV) “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
We all know how much communication matters in a relationship.
Have you ever wanted someone to just open up to you, and they wouldn’t? A spouse who goes quiet. A friend who never has the time. A boss who keeps you in the dark. When the sharing stops, you start to feel unimportant. Maybe even rejected. And the relationship itself begins to wither, because relationships live on communication.
Now picture God on His throne, wishing you would just take a minute to tell Him about your day. What you’re struggling with. What you’re grateful for. He already knows all of it, of course. But any good father wants his child to come and share anyway. How much more, then, does our Heavenly Father, who loves us more than we can imagine, long to hear from His children?
That’s really all prayer is. It’s talking with God. It’s how we share, confess, repent, and bring Him our requests. It should be as natural to us as breathing.
But if I’m honest, it isn’t always. And unlike the disciples, we don’t have Jesus physically here to show us how. What we do have is even closer than that.
Romans 8:26 (ESV) “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Read that again if you’ve ever felt like you don’t know how to pray, or didn’t have the words. You’re not disqualified. The Spirit Himself carries what you can’t put into words. You are never praying alone.
The Desperate Plea
If you’ve read the book of Daniel, you know he was a man of prayer. So devoted that it landed him in a lions’ den, because he refused to stop praying even when he was ordered to (you can read the whole account in Daniel 6). I know it sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s the real thing, and God delivered him.
Here’s the part I don’t want you to miss. Scripture doesn’t record Daniel praying inside the den, but I have to imagine he cried out to God the moment that door shut. I call that the desperate plea.
We all know the desperate plea. When the diagnosis comes, when the money runs out, when someone we love is in the hospital, we have no trouble begging God for help. And He hears it.
But notice what Daniel had already done. He built a foundation of prayer with God long before that night. He didn’t ignore God until the moment he needed Him. The relationship was already there. The desperate plea wasn’t a stranger knocking on a door. It was a child calling out to a Father he already knew.
That’s the difference a prayer life makes.
A Small Assignment
God is our Father. There is nothing we should want more than a real relationship with Him. And a relationship is built the same way every good one is: by showing up and talking, not just in the emergencies, but on the ordinary days too.
So here’s my small assignment for you today. Pick a time you’re going to pray. That’s it. If you haven’t prayed in a long while, or ever, this might feel bigger than it sounds, and that’s okay. Set a time anyway. Then, when it comes, keep it simple. Thank Him for something. Tell Him what’s heavy. Ask for what you need.
And afterward, notice how you feel. A little nervous going in? Different coming out? Sit with that.
If your heart is tugging on you right now, don’t brush it off. That pull is an invitation.
Take the first step. He’s already leaning in to listen.
How can I pray for you today? Leave a comment below and I’ll add you to my prayer list this week.