Prayer made simple: 4 easy steps

"When call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." -
Jeremiah 29:12

Have you ever uttered the phrase, "I need to pray more"?

I don't pray enough. Do you?"I need to pray more". I don't know if I've heard that phrase or said that phrase more times in my life. Not a day goes by that one or the other doesn't happen. Most days, both happen. For many people, prayer, like exercise, is something that gets mentioned a lot as "something I need to do more of" but that rarely finds its way into peoples' daily schedules. Prayer is not the mere reciting of words. Prayer is not the mere reading of words. Prayer is not the mere singing of words. Prayer is not the mere omission of words (silence). Prayer is turning your heart, your ears, your mind, your voice. Your everything to God. Prayer can be loud or soft. Prayer can be active or immobile. Prayer can shake you and break you. Prayer can calm the greatest of storms and simultaneously create all new ones. Prayer is a gift from God. Prayer is also a response to that gift. Instead of falling into that same trap of "writing about prayer" instead of just praying, myself, I want to cut this blog and make it shorter.

I am going to go pray. I hope as you are reading this, that you'll join me. Stop whatever you are doing and pray. Right now - go for it. Just put yourself in the path and the presence of God. And if you don't know how, or if it's been a while, just follow these four easy steps:

1. Say, "Here I am, Lord."
2. Next, ask, "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
3. Now.shut up.
4. When distracted, confused or in doubt.simply repeat steps 1-3.

And trust in the following words from God, given to us from the prophet Jeremiah.

"When call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." - Jeremiah29:12

Disclaimer: Pray at your own risk. Doing so is known to change lives and save souls.