Prayer

One of the most important elements of any relationship is communication, and prayer is the primary method for telling God. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we do not need to pray that much, because God already knows it all. It still must come from us. I have spent all my life knowing I should pray, but I really feel that lately my desire to pray has grown greatly. Another big change is what I pray for, and why I pray for it. This whole pursuit is likely due out of prayer, and prayer is what God laid on my heart over the past few days.
Prayer is a very common them in the bible, and it is for that reason that it become vital. One of the first things that comes to mind is the middle of these verses:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I find it so incredibly difficult to pray continually, but I have also found that when I feel in a near constant connecting with God is when I do the best pursuing him. I don't know how this might work for someone else, but I know that when I am in tune with it I feel that everything I think and say is what I am choosing to share with God.
The next piece of this pursuit is what I pray for. I have been to ask myself why I pray for things. Do I pray out of selfishness or selflessness. I have been reflecting on what I pray for over the last few days, and it has been very enlightening. I think that the selfless prayers are the ones most commonly answered, and the selfish ones are often not. I think my biggest new prayer has become: God help me follow the path you have laid out for me. I also pray something to the tune of: Help me pursue righteousness at all costs. The thing about the "at all costs" statement is that it has the potential to cost a lot. It is easy to say I will follow Jesus when it only costs a little, but when very difficult when you begin to see the true cost of such a prayer. When you truely surrender to God in this way you begin to see the costs start to add up, but you don't worry about how much it will cost. In the end you know it is worth it. Does it hurt? Yeah, and sometimes badly. I also spend a fair amount of time thanking God for all of the blessings, because when you look around there are always blessings to find. I pray for God's will, not mine. Jesus prayed this, and I think it is a great model for how to pray. Now the last element I find that is important is praying for his people. I am terrible at this, and I am working on it. I want to pray for people that need it, and don't know it. I know I need to put more of my prayer time towards this; Praying that people find God, and that the people of God are able to continue to follow God as well.
So what do you pray for and why? By all means pray for everything, but pray for things that follow the heart of God. Do you find yourself in true communion with God, or just on occasion? Why must we only pray at certain times? Why does prayer have to be hard? Are you will to ask God to pull out all the stops when it comes to your righteousness? Some of these prayers take great emotional effort to truly pray, but the value is beyond our comprehension. I want God to make me into the man he wants me to be, and lead me down the path that he has prepared for me at all costs, whether I like it or not. Will you?