"My Prayer Time"

Prayer is just talking to God.  Sometimes we don't even acknowledge the Lord, we go through a whole day only praying a quick prayer before eating our meals or saying "Dear Lord" when we can't find a lost item we want.  That's really not the way to have a relationship with our God.
I can think of all of the struggles I've gone through with prayer and I think the what helped me the most was realizing I could pray anytime, anywhere, and about any thing on my mind.  It doesn't have to be formal or in perfect circumstances.
When one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus gave them a model prayer, which we sometimes call the Lord's prayer.  Then Jesus spoke of a man with a friend who had a need.  The man needed bread and kept asking until he received it.
The key words that keep popping up in Luke 11 (following) are "ask" and "importunity".   Sometimes we may hate to ask for things, it shows we have a need but isn't it true?  We do have needs!
Asking God for things or answers to prayer lets Him know that we are...
too weak to get the answer on our own.
too poor to buy it on our own.
too dumb to figure it out on our own.
too small to get the big jobs done.
Asking God for things or answers to prayers lets Him know the He is...
the most powerful God.
all we need.
the wisest and all-knowing God.
the biggest and strongest God.
the One who knows all our needs and how to meet them!
"Importunity" is the same as being impudent, or just plain rude.  God doesn't mind if we keep asking, and asking, and asking.  Doing this shows our faith and our belief in His power.  When we ask one time and give up we then start using our own strength to figure things out.  Keep asking God, never give up!
What if you've never had a prayer time, what can you do to start having one?  Here's a "Bible Girl" way that has helped me!

Create a prayer scrapbook.

Include pictures of loved ones, missionaries, staff members, etc...

Have a section for prayer requests and answers.

Have a praise sections - pictures of your favorite creations by God, etc...

Have a section for sick friends and church members.

Every morning after Bible time go through your scrapbook and pray

You'll find that you'll have to make a new one every so often as you run out of space and get new friends, pictures, etc... It is so exciting to see the answered prayers marked in your scrapbook.  Seeing pictures also makes you think about what you're praying about.

Try it!  You'll enjoy your prayer time and you'll spend more time with the Lord!

Luke 11

¹And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, 
when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, 
Lord,teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 
²And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, 
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
 ³Give us day by day our daily bread. ⁴And forgive us our sins; 
for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. 
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

⁵And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, 
and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 
Friend, lend me three loaves; ⁶For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me,
and I have nothing to set before him? ⁷And he from within shall answer and say, 
Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; 
I cannot rise and give thee. ⁸I say unto you, 
Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, 
yet because of his importunity he will rise and give 
him as many as he needeth. ⁹And I say unto you,
 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; 
knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 
¹⁰For every one that asketh receiveth; 
and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that 
knocketh it shall be opened. ¹¹If a son shall ask bread 
of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? 
or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
 ¹²Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
¹³If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: 
how much more shall your heavenly 
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?