2008 Steps with God...One at a Time.

The command to pray at all times is a definite challenge for me. Not only am I only just getting used to praying, but to be constantly aware of being prayerful and mindful of God is certainly not an easy task for me. (And I'm sure, to some extent, that many others have trouble with this as well.) But God calls us to do so, and to do so at all times.

I know that the act of praying isn't just limited to kneeling on the floor with my eyes closed and head bowed, but what is it exactly? What is the real meaning of the word "pray"? Some of us have defined it to be active communication with God, but what exactly does that entail?

I looked up the word on dictionary.com, which defined it as so: "to offer devout petition, praise, thanks to God." A valid definition, I supposeut I disagree with its ordering of the words "petition", "praise", and "thanks". Shouldn't it be in the opposite order? Shouldn't praise emerge naturally from a thankful heart, and shouldn't petition come after giving glory to God?

...not that I'm trying to make such a simple definition into such a big deal. I'm just saying. It just makes me think about the substance of my prayers. I've noticed that I've been starting off my prayers these days by saying, "Gracious Father, I want to thank You again for being faithful." I don't know when I started praying like this, but now that I've come to think about it, I've kinda taken a liking to it. Yet it makes me wonder. God is faithful to me, whether or not I realize it at all times. But am I faithful to God?

Which brings me to my next dilemma. How am I to be faithful to God? By praying at all times. How am I to be prayerful at all times? By being faithful. 'Tis an perpetual cycle, without an end.

...but it does have a beginning. And it starts now, by praying.