Prayer

I started to think about Prayer this morning so I decided to do a little blog post on it :)
According to most people, Prayer is simply talking to God. That could include thanking him, asking for something, or just telling him about your day, problems, and feelings.
One of my favorite books (Antsy Does Time~ Neal Shusterman)also talks about prayer. The character in the story, Antsy, defines prayer like this: " —that’s when I realized that prayer isn’t for God. After all, He doesn’t need it. He’s out there, or in there, or sitting up there in His firmament, whatever that is, all-knowing and all-powerful, right? He doesn’t need us repeating words week after week in His face. If He’s there, sure, I’ll bet He’s listening, but it doesn’t change Him, one way or the other. Instead, we’re the ones who are changed by it." And finally, the Bible talks about prayer but doesn't really give it a definition. Philippians 4:6-7 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
Why is Prayer so important to me?
Well, first of all, I'm a Christian so prayer is the way in which I communicate with God. But there's a lot more to that for me. In the quote, Antsy says that prayer doesn't change God at all and I believe that's true. Yeah, we're talking to God and we're asking for all this stuff but none of it changes God. He doesn't get more powerful when we prayer and when we don't pray, he doesn't become weaker. We pray, so that we can talk to God and we pray because it changes us. I feel a lot better after I pray. Usually, if I'm praying for someone or something, I feel pretty peaceful afterwards.
Lately, ever since this summer, I've been praying a lot more than I used to. I pray for a lot of people, most that I haven't even met. For example, I pray for Justin Bieber. Yeah, most of my friends find that really strange but I still pray for him every night. First off, It makes me feel like I'm making a difference because I pray for his faith, his safety, and his family and team. I also think it's really important. Another example would be Joel Courtney. I pray for his faith, his health, his safety, and his family. Both of them are in places where they have a lot of impact and influence on people.
I pray for my birth sister and birth family that they will become Christians one day.
Whenever I'm feeling doubtful, scared, or when I'm happy, I'll pray to God and thank Him for everything that he's given me.
Since it's almost Christmas, I have a lot to be thankful for which means I get to thank God more! This Christmas, I have my family, my friends, presents, my Bible, my music, love, food, Internet, and so much more. I've really been blessed.
And even when I pray, I listen for God. So, since prayer changes us, hearing what God says changes us too. It's a lot more effective than a devotional actually because it comes straight from God.
For me, since I'm really introvert, I don't like to spend a lot of time talking (yet my parents seems to think otherwise..) especially in front of a lot of people. So when I'm praying, I know it's just me and God so I find that a lot easier. Maybe that's why I pray so much.
Oh, and my favorite prayer quote is "God Speaks in the Silence of the Heart. Listening is the Beginning of Prayer" (Mother Teresa). Before you start to pray, you should listen first to what God wants to say to you and then go from there.