Lord, teach me to pray.

This is my hearts desire today as it is with many days. It's so easy to get through my devotions each morning and then race off to start my day. Breakfast for the kids, school, errands, cleaning, etc. and forget to really pray. Oh, I send up the quick "Please be with so and so" or, "Thank you God for this or that" but I rarely sit and really pray.

There have been times in my life that I have taken time out of my day to pray. When I was a teen I spent a lot of time in prayer. And this past 8 or 9 years of my married life I have devoted time to prayer off and on. But it's never consistent.

I desire to be a prayer warrior. You know the type. The person who carries a notebook filled with prayer requests and answers to prayer. The person who wakes up early to spend time communicating with the Father. The person who "prays without ceasing" always having the attitude of prayer. At times in my life I've had that, I've been that person. But more recently as I sit down to start a prayer journal, I am overwhelmed with the need. So many people need prayer, I could pray all day and only scratch the surface. But, if I am consistent, then over time I will cover a lot of ground. Besides, God is not limited by my prayers. I don't have to worry if I am praying for enough people, God simply wants me to pray. He can work in lives without me being on my knees. But, He desires that communication with me.

Reasons to pray: to praise God! To thank God! To confess sin, to simply be in awe of Him and be quiet in His presence! To make requests, to sing to God! To quote Scripture and reflect on God's promises! And so many more! I want to pray to glorify God, to honor Him, to pray for the lost and hurting.

I have been challenged in recent weeks to work on my prayer life. But every time I commit to praying, I get distracted...something happens to take my time I've set aside. But, I realize as I go through my day that I cannot be the wife, mother, and friend I need to be without God's help. And so, I am committing myself to prayer once again and plan to guard my time alone with God. I'm not going to just do my devotions and then rush off to start my day. My relationship with God comes before all other relationships. Without Him I am nothing and I long to spend time with Him.

We are to hunger and thirst for Him and I definately have that right now, so I begin once again to quench that thirst, knowing that it will never be satisfied until I am in His presence. But that won't stop me from trying. Please let me know how I can pray for you, and please pray for me too as I start this new/old adventure. Let's pray!