eeny, meeny, miny, moe, twinkle, twinkle, little star, step on a crack, lucky number seven

Prayer is not about keeping a routine. Prayer is not about a ritual. Prayer is not a perfunctory rite. Prayer is not a religious hobby. You might disagree. And you would be right, because prayer is all those things.

But it is so much more. It is more than routine, ritual, rite or religious commotion. At the heart of it all; prayer is about a relationship.

Prayer is birthed out of a relationship with the Father. It is the craving in the heart of child to be with and to know the Father. Prayer is only sustained when it goes beyond cute clichés and mechanical phraseology and reflects meaningful dialog with God-the two way street of conversation that is both listening and speaking-and waiting.

In the book, Pivotal Praying, the author tells about a five-year-old boy who is tucked into bed by his Daddy. Covers are drawn up and tucked tight. Then the father and son both fold their hands and reverently bow to pray. The child prays, "Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep...if he hollers let him go...eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

Kids can be so cute when they pray. Their prayers reflect an innocence in which they mix together faith, make-believe, superstition, mysticism, and magic. Of course, if we could be honest, we would have to admit that the prayers of adults are not so different.

Do your prayers sometimes reveal the tyranny of the meaningless, or empty routine that is ruled by the hurried-up pre-set time constraints? Are your prayers just to make an impression on others? Do your prayers boarder on fairytale superstition or magic formulas? Do you wear out some well-worn phrases meant to guarantee that God listens...and...(dare I say it?)...and that He obeys or prayers? Do you get tired of just going through the motions?

If you answered yes to some of those rhetorical questions, it may indicate that your prayer life is just a string of magical words that hold no more meaning that the stings of words at the top of this prayer journal.

Prayer isn't that complex. It isn't magical. It doesn't require the right words-but it requires the right heart: a heart that hungers for relationship with God. How hungry are you for God? It shows in your prayer. Don't just tuck yourself away for "nighty-night"-hunger Him. And if you are not hungry-then that is the place to begin praying, "God make me hungry for you."