The best way to build a relationship with someone is to spend time talking to the other person. You wouldn’t have many friends if you never talked to them, would you?

How would your relationship with your family suffer if you never made time for them, or never let them speak to you?

 The same thing is true in your relationship with God. Just as reading your Bible helps you know God more intimately, so does spending time with Him in prayer.

 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.  — Mark 1:35

 Prayer is your way of communicating with God. Here are three tips for developing a strong prayer life:

1.  Set aside time every day for prayer. Don’t be tempted to save your conversations with God only for emergencies or into the leftover pieces of your busy day.
2.  Make prayer a priority. Combining your prayer time and your Bible reading time into a morning or bedtime devotional is a great idea.
3. Don’t role-play for God. Just be yourself and talk to Him. You don’t have to use fancy words, and you don’t have to try to impress Him. Just come to God as simply and honestly as you can. Speak from your heart. He is your Father.

 Now that you know you need to spend time in honest, open conversation with God every day, you may be wondering what that looks like. Consider this scripture:

 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. — Philippians 4:6

 So, how should you pray? You can pray in a number of ways, but over the years, these are some ways that I have found to be helpful in praying.

•  Spend some time praising and thanking God for the good things in your life.
• Confess any sin that you may be struggling with.
• Tell Him what is worrying you and what you need help with.
• Pray that God will guide and direct your life in the way it is supposed to go.

 Remember, prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. As you develop your prayer life, you will get more comfortable both speaking to and hearing from God. So, go ahead and talk to God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He is your guide on this journey. Make sure the lines of communication are open.

 I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. — Jeremiah 24: 7

 Darrell

For more about The Ridge go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible