Praying Without Barriers

Prayer can be a series of mini-conversations with God

Our days are filled with interactions with other people. We easily and often interact with friends, family, and co-workers. Should it be any different with God? Since He is always with us, God is the One who we spend the most time with. Yet it is so easy to overcomplicate what is needed to talk with Him. Linda Znachko has enjoyed a simple approach to prayer.

Our minds wander. Research suggests that our attention span is only ten seconds long. So as your mind drifts, and it will, let your first stop be God. Have a running conversation about whatever is on your mind. If you wander to thoughts about a friend, turn it into a prayer. When you start thinking of all you need to get done, ask God for strength. Take what often is a distraction and turn it into a prayer. Make it simple, honest, spontaneous, and applicable to what is going on in your life. By doing this, we are "setting our mind on things above" (Col. 3:2), and prayer will be more natural and continuous in your life.

Application Question:

• Linda says "Once I tear down all those walls of preconceived ideas of what prayer is, and I just think, 'I'm just talking to my Savior', that is something I try to do as many times through the day as I can." Do you feel as though you have to do things the "right way" to talk to God? Or can you have a running conversation with your Savior throughout your day?