When you pray do you truly believe God is listening? Do you truly trust that God is indeed working to answer your prayer? Do you pray with expectation that in some way God will respond?

I realize that often times I pray without real expectation or without real thought that I am in conversation with God. When we pray we ought to leave the experience changed – every single time. I don’t mean that we have some emotional experience, or that we have some manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit or a charismatic type experience. What I mean is that if we are truly praying we should be entering into an encounter with God. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has had an encounter with God that has not left changed.

Look at Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Mary, Peter, the blind man, Zacchaeus, and Paul – encountering the God who is, and was, and ever will be radically changed them.

What I’ve noticed for myself is that often I leave prayer exactly the same as I went in. I often go into prayer without really stopping and realizing I need to focus myself, my attention, and my intention on God.  Whether that time of prayer is for a specific need or part of my daily routine – I must enter with the intention that this time is an encounter with God.

I know that when I do pray with true intention, focus, ferver, and expectation I am always amazed at the change in myself and generally the resolve of whatever situation I may be praying for. I have walked away from sincere prayer a changed man many times before – so why is it that I still find myself praying without really praying so often?

I suppose it is a lot of things – but today I resolve to focus, to enter in to conversation with God. To take time again for silence – to heed his call to “come to him.” If I am to live gracefully I must be walking in the grace that comes through sincere prayer.

When you pray talk like someone is listening.

Then sit in silence and listen like someone is talking.

When you are praying for a specific need or situation – pray with expectation.

Never leave prayer the same person you went in.

 

-cf

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