“I know I should pray, but I never know what to say, so I keep putting it off.” If this is your issue, then it’s likely because you don’t know the One to whom you’re praying.

If you were put in a room for ten minutes with a close friend, you’d have a lot in common to talk about, and the time would fly by. But if it were someone you’d never met but who’d asked for you and then never said a word, you’d be aching for the visit to end and try to avoid another one. Most of all, you’d wonder why this person wanted to spend time with you when they didn’t speak a word.

Afterward, you learn that this person does speak, and has spoken volumes in a book that tells everything about them. So, you get a copy and read it, and it’s so intriguing that you read it again and again, and you wish you could know them. Then, you meet them again, and you tell them that you want to be their friend, and you ask for their forgiveness for not knowing who they are. Suddenly, the words in the book come alive. You realize that what you’d read about them is exactly who you see now, and as you look into their eyes and see the beauty and majesty of this new friend, you’re in awe. Your veins pulsate with life because now it all comes together, and you realize that this book is not only about this friend but it’s about what this person has prepared for YOU so you can live with them forever!

Soon, you realize that this friend loves you more than anyone else ever could, and you crave the next visit. You keep reading their book and see that this friend knew you before you were even born and that He gave His life to prepare the perfect world for you, one that flows with love and peace and joy—and justice. Your desire to read grows, and so does your relationship with Him. When you get together, He still doesn’t speak audible words, but he fills your very being with his thoughts and the words you read.

This friend is Jesus, but you can’t pray and mean it when you don’t know Him, and you won’t hear Him speak to you because He speaks through His Word and by His Spirit. But when you accept Jesus as your Savior, He forgives your sins and fills you with His Spirit, so that when you study the Bible, His words become life to your soul because you know Him. Your love for Him grows, and it will never again be a chore to spend time in prayer but an undeserved privilege that you’ll never again want to miss.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.—1 Thessalonians 5:16

Thanks for stopping by! … ronnie