If you’re like me, your working definition of prayer for most of your life was pretty simple: Asking God for something.
To do this well, it helped to have a list. In more “spiritual” seasons it was a mental list, or even an ad hoc “Spirit-led” list. In more practical seasons it was a physical list. A list of people’s names and needs, maybe places or organizations and situations. Prayer consisted of speaking these people and these needs aloud to God for his provision.
That is prayer, for sure. Don’t get me wrong. And I like it because it feels like doing something. I like accomplishing things.
But it’s only one kind of prayer.
There are many other kinds of prayer that don’t feel like doing much of anything at all. They are more silent, wordless, even passive. Less about accomplishing something and more about experiencing God’s presence. Less about asking him for something and more about giving him access to everything.
To my surprise I’m finding that sometimes the most powerful times of prayer don’t feel like praying at all.
