Prayer is a continuing and continuous conversation with God.
I will give you an example. When I’m talking with the children or my husband, sometimes I’ll talk while cooking, cleaning and we will still carry on a good engaging conversation where we can hear each other clearly and respond positively to one another. Then there are times when I will schedule undistracted and alone time with my husband because we have something serious to discuss. We will sit down with each other and talk until we resolve whatever needed solving or come up with an appropriate plan of action. Both are perfectly acceptable modes of communication.
In the same way, my communication with God will take on various modes and methods but what remains the same is that it is continuous. As I was on the delivery bed giving birth to our second child, I talked with God in my spirit. We literally had a full blown conversation. I was not kneeling down with my hands clasped but was sprawled out in childbirth and yet I did not feel ashamed to talk to my Creator. I told Him exactly how I felt in that moment. I clearly remember how I felt when I told God it was too hard and painful, and I felt like I couldn’t do it. My loving Father spoke clearly to me and through His Holy Spirit brought back to my remembrance a Bible verse I had probably read over 5 years ago. Daniel 11:32 they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Wow! Where did that come from? I did not know the exact Book of the Bible that verse came from at the time, but I knew without a doubt that it was Scriptural and that it was the Voice of God speaking to me in that moment. With that one line He brought to my remembrance how faithful He had been to me in the past and how He was the same faithful God even in the midst of this situation that seemed too hard for me to endure. My whole state of being changed like the flick of a light switch. A surge of renewed strength came upon me and 10 minutes later our healthy baby had arrived.
Then I remember another time in my high school days. I attended an all girls Christian boarding school and my favorite place to read my Bible and pray was in the Chapel. I liked the peaceful and calm ambience it carried during quiet hours like early morning or right after dinner because it was almost always empty at these times. I would kneel down in a quiet corner, clasp my hands in prayer, speaking to my loving Father and hearing from Him through His Word and through a witness in my spirit.
Same God, same me, different time and different prayer techniques but all effective, efficient and perfectly acceptable to God. Man may look at the outside but God looks at the posture of the heart. Even while I pray in the bathroom my heart’s posture is one of humility and awe of the magnificent God to whom I call on in prayer.
Prayer, just like any other good conversation, involves both speaking and listening. It goes both ways, this blessed open line with God. We speak to Him and He in turn speaks to us, if we are still and willing to listen both to and for His gentle and still voice.
I encourage you to pray at all times and on all occasions as the Spirit leads. (Ephesians 6:18) There is no time that is not prayer time. God is omnipresent which is perfect for me, because I can commute with Him continuously. Sometimes, without me taking notice, my spirit will sing songs of praise to God while my conscious mind is otherwise occupied with work and I will only later realize that I had a praise song going on in the background like a computer tab that I forgot to close. Only difference is that this is a welcome and life giving ‘tab’ that I never want to close but would love to keep running as the soundtrack of my life.
To quote from “The Wigglesworth Standard” by Peter J. Madden:
“Our goal must become unbroken fellowship with God, which is the highest honor and reward given to man”
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Read more of Rachel’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
