don't forget to pray

Week two of the Year of Megan was all about prayer.

I have always been a praying person.  I was taught from a young age to pray several times a day - upon waking up in the morning, before meals, at the end of the night before I went to bed.  I prayed with my siblings.  I prayed with my parents.  I prayed with my family, with Dave, and now, with Kate.

With so much praying, you sometimes run the risk of becoming a little rote in your words.  Often I catch myself saying the same things and getting stale in my communication with God.  I found that my prayers had started to shift from thoughtful orations to a quick task to be accomplished before leaving the house for the day and after getting ready for bed.

But I know that's not how it should be.

So this week, I have really focused on saying meaningful prayers every day.  I made an effort not to rush through them.  I've tried to take the time to say something different than the things I said before.  Occasionally, I said things that were neither thoughts of gratitude or requests of blessings.  Sometimes I just talked.

I feel like I have a better understanding of the purpose of prayer after this week.

First of all, I realized how important the act of praying is merely as a time to quietly reflect on my day, my week, my month, my year, my life.  The first part of praying is expressing appreciation for the things I have.  So many times this week, I found myself enjoying a moment of peace on my knees as I was led to appreciate the wonderful blessings in my life.  This was most apparent after a hard day of complaining and self pity.

Next, I ask Heavenly Father to bless me.  There's something about praying that keeps you from asking for things that aren't' really important.  Prayer has a way of readjusting your life's vision to the things that matter most.  If you listen closely, you might even be prompted to know how to bless yourself by making changes in your mind set or actions.

That leads me to my next discovery about prayer.  I have often wondered why Heavenly Father wants us to pray when He already knows what I'm thinking and need.  I'm sure a large part of the reason is like I mentioned above.  Prayer offers a greater level of self awareness.  After I pray, I am more grateful for the things I already have and more motivated to make necessary changes in my own life.

But I also think that He just wants to hear from us.  I thought of it this way.  I know almost everything there is to know about Katelyn.  I know when she'll zig as opposed to zag.  I can predict a temper tantrum more accurately than a weatherman standing in the middle of a thunderstorm promising a good chance of rain.  She doesn't have to tell me what she needs because I am usually on top of it already.  She also doesn't have to tell me how much she relies on me.  Trust me I know.  Despite my omniscience when it comes to my daughter, I still want to hear from her.  I still want to know what she thinks about the hot dogs she's eating with her macaroni and cheese.  I want her to tell me when she's happy or sad or angry or hurt or excited or scared.  I want to hear from her because I love her.  I want her to talk to me even if I can already guess what she'll say.

I think Heavenly Father feels that way about us.  I think He loves us and wants to hear from us.

This has been such a rewarding week of focusing on prayer.  I'm so grateful for a way to communicate with my Father in Heaven.  I have always had a testimony that He listened and answered.  I feel like that testimony has been strengthened this week.