Have you ever heard someone say, "God doesn't speak like He used to speak"? One lady responded, "Perhaps it's because people don't listen like they used to listen." Well, I think both are true: Written revelations are certainly not given today like they were in biblical times, but we don't take nearly the same time our predecessors did in talking and listening to God.

Now, I don't to want guilt you into praying, because that would only work for a day or so. Every time prayer is mentioned from a pulpit or in a teaching, our guilt meters go bonkers, because we all know it’s an area in which we're a little bit lacking. So, rather than guilting you, I want to encourage you, because prayer should be a prominent part of our lives.

The Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). It also says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30).

And when you discover what it means to love God that way, you'll realize prayer must be at the center of your life. Because when you pray, it's an exercise of dependence upon God and humility before Him. How prominent is prayer in your life?

The average computer user in this country spends forty-nine minutes a day just managing emails. So how much time does the average Christian spend in prayer? Statistics tell us it’s only three to four minutes each day.

In Daniel 9, we see that the prophet Daniel was reading the Scriptures and meditating when something caught his attention, and he stopped to pray about it. So, it became more than a monologue—it was a conversation. God was speaking to him, and he spoke back.

If your prayer life has gotten a little bit rusty—you're in that three-to-four-minute crowd—it could freshen your prayers up a bit to let what you say to God be prompted by what God says to you in His Word.

Here’s a recommendation for two great books on prayer: Answers to Prayer by George Müller and Drawing Near by Kenneth Boa and Max Anders. Both have taught me a lot about praying using the Scriptures.

The prayer God accepts is the prayer God directs. This is why George Whitefield would read his Bible, come to something he felt the Lord was speaking to his heart, and use that to prompt his communication back to God. It was a two-way communication, a dialogue.

According to Jesus Christ, we have all the authority to draw checks from the power bank of heaven. He said, "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:14). But each withdrawal must conform to heavenly policy. And the only way to know the policy is to understand what's written in God's Word—what He has revealed. The promises and warnings will become promptings for you to have a dialogue with God.

Prayer is really about cooperation; it's aligning our will with God's will. It's as if God made this promise: "I want to be a part of this. I want to enter into cooperating with you." And God invites us to do that with Him.

So, pray relationally: You're talking to a person. Never allow your prayer to degenerate into just mouthing words—mindless, thoughtless, same old, "lead, guide, bless," or memorized prayers. Freshen it up a bit.

Reevaluate your relationship with God. Is He your all in all?