Prayer is interesting stuff. And having said that, I feel like I should immediately issue an understatement alert. Prayer is the art of mankind communicating with God and the moment you include the Lord in any matter, the possibilities become limitless. Prayer, therefore, is a big subject. Entire conferences and sermon series have been dedicated to the subject. Scholarly books have been written on prayer, helping us understand the different types and purposes of prayer. This is absolutely right and proper. A good understanding of prayer is important and needful. Back when I was pastoring, I would have my wife teach on prayer on a regular basis. She is a good prayer and very knowledgeable on the subject.

Admiring, as I am, of the scholarly side of prayer, I am a completely uncivilized peasant on the practical aspects. My approach on prayer is that it’s talking to God (and that we should try to remember to shut up now and then because every so often he is gracious and replies to us). So I talk to God throughout the day, not on a schedule, but as I have things that I want to share with the Lord, my friend who sticks closer than a brother. I've been like this since I first entered the church.

One of my first personal observations about prayer was that the best encouragement to pray was seeing answered prayer. There's just something about seeing a matter that you, or others you know, have prayed for be resolved. "Well, that prayer got answered, so I feel good about asking this prayer!"

Another observation was that the primary thing I control in prayer is whether or not I pray. The Lord has all of the rest of the control. He can choose to answer "yes", "no" or "wait" (pretty sure that this is our least favorite answer). He can answer in the exact manner that was requested, but he can also answer in the way that he knows will ultimately work best for the requester. He can also decline to answer any prayer and is especially likely to do so if the person has asked unwisely or for something that would ultimately be detrimental for them. By choosing to pray I have immediately provided an opportunity for the Lord to intervene in a situation. When I choose not to pray, I have effectively told the Lord that I don't care enough about the situation to want his help. And I think that this distinction is important. We know that the Lord is a gentleman, in that he knocks on the door our our heart, but waits for us to open up and invite him in.