My parents taught me how to pray when I started to speak. My childhood prayers still imprinted in my head. It so well familiar to me that I could even say them even if I am sleeping. I had prayer before having my meal, before and after my sleep. To my observation, there are my christian parents did the same thing to their children. Yesterday, my wife told my daughter “wear your clothes sweetie, we are about to go out” surprisingly she instantly said her prayer. “God bless my clothes. Jesus Thank You. Amen.” It is so amazing! Nobody told her to do that but she just did it by substituting the word food for clothes so that it would fit for the occasion. I could say that we were indeed prayerful when we were still young, but what about now? How often do we bring our knees and pray?
Looking back I could say that sometimes I only pray more when I am in trouble but not when I am well. Probably because I understand prayer as a means to get my needs. But prayer is more than that. I’ve read many different dictionaries and this is the definition that I got: “prayer is a solemn request for HELP, expression of THANKS or PRAISE, earnest HOPE or WISH addressed to God or an Object of worship.”
A great author Ellen G. White says, “Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.” (Steps to Christ, p. 11) Whatever our reasons for prayer it is important to us because it will make us closer to Him.