Growing up my mother taught me some children’s prayers for meals and bedtime. I also memorized the Lord’s Prayer but I never prayed in front of another person. On occasion, I prayed spontaneous prayers but it was always silently and directed at some immediate need I had.
On the night when I made a conscious decision to start following Jesus, prayer took on a whole new dimension for me. I heard my wife pray for the first time and I was blessed to hear it. She was talking out loud to God as though He was a good friend. Ever since then, I have had the freedom to pray.
As I began to study the prayers in the Bible, I realized that there are many passages that can be rephrased as a personal prayer, especially in the Psalms. Many prayers in the New Testament are actually prayers and confessions that can be used in communicating with God. Now I realize that prayer is something I can do anytime or anywhere and it always makes me aware of God’s presence.