Prayer was always a personal thing for me. Despite not going to church or really knowing God, I knew he was around and listening. Occasionally, I prayed before bed but always before meals, after all I wanted my food to be blessed.

When I came to know Christ, praying became second nature for me. Praying as I poured coffee and studied for finals. Praying as I drove and hung out with friends. Praying as I read the bible. Praying, just me and God was great, but praying out loud was another story, perhaps for another time.

Over the past few years, I have come to understand how powerful prayer is, how often I take it for granted and how much I have brushed it off in the past. It has been truly eye opening and I know there is still so much to learn.

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

The basis of this verse is a daily conversation. Prayer is communication. It is an ongoing conversation from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. It is a relationship. It is trust and love. It is comfort. Prayer is a lifeline in daily battles.

God does not want you kneeling down for hours on end with your hands folded and head bowed - although there is a time for that. Some of the best prayers happen when you are driving through rush hour traffic and picking up kiddos from school. When you are in line at grocery store or sitting at your desk at work. God is always there. Always ready to hear what you have to say, even though he knows every thought before it is ever spoken (Psalm 139:4).

Prayer allows you to keep God in the context of every situation you encounter. Thanking him for the good things, even if you have to look hard to find them and asking for help in the difficult situations, along with those random thoughts about how good an ice cream sundae sounds right about now. God loves you and wants a relationship with you.

When you are getting to know someone, you have to spend time with them to start a relationship and speak to them. The same is true about God. He wants alone time with you in his word. In quiet time. In corporate worship. And communicating through prayer.

I pray that if you have never prayed, that you would try it and see how perfectly it fits in to your day amongst the daily grind. I pray that you would not be intimidated or focus on the "how to" but rather speaking honestly and in truth.

I pray that you would have candid conversations and give thanks regularly. I pray that prayer would become so woven in to your day that you would be lost without them. I pray that your faith grows as you start to trust God with the most sacred parts of your life and that you would see how he has pieced everything together for your good (Romans 8:28).

Here's to praying and getting to know God. Here's to the best listener ever.

And if you ever need prayer, please do not hesitate to ask.