Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3Give us each day our daily bread, 4and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:1-4)

Why is prayer so hard? If we are in a group and the leader asks, "Can someone pray before we start?", the members of the group look down, around, put hands in pockets, and the seconds move by painfully slow, so the leader finally says, "I will."

You've been there so you know it is true. Prayer, however, is the mark of a disciple. As followers of Christ, we certainly know that the Son of God prayed and is found in scripture praying often. As imitators of Christ, we should be in prayer daily - morning and night prayers are common for example. Heat of the moment prayers are probably typical.

The Psalms are available for prayer. I have both an Episcopalian prayer book left by my mom and the Lutheran Book of Prayer (link below), so denominational prayer books are available.

Of this I'm certain, the Holy Spirit takes our words and shapes them for God, so regardless of the pageantry, the pomp, or the circumstance, He hears our great, well-thought-out prayers and our need you at this moment "groans and sighs" (Romans 8:26).

Join me in prayer: Gracious Father, I thank you for giving me another day. Please help me use this day for you, as your disciple. Please give me the strength necessary to see opportunities to serve as a disciple, if it is to share your love and truth, if it is to be a person giving comfort, or if it is to listen and say nothing, help me to seize each moment. In your Son's name, Amen.