I don't remember if anyone in particular invented it, but I do recall when something labeled Conversational Prayer became popular. It was the idea that in group prayer people would engage God in an ongoing conversation together about one topic for a time and then move to another after that topic was "covered." It was a welcome change from the boredom and distraction often experienced waiting for others to stop praying so you could join in. It's something that many groups still do and I and many others happen to like the idea to this day.
Conversational prayer can keep prayer times from just becoming the reciting of requests to God with little extended thought or involvement by others when they are not praying. It's also a very special time when the conversation focuses only on praise for a time.
However, the older I get the more I enjoy and am enriched by my own individual conversations with God, ones that go on throughout the day rather than merely during one devotional moment or session. It's when I find Paul's admonition to pray without ceasing to really come alive.
And there are several benefits from those talks, inspirations to my growth as a person and one who prays. First, I find that when I talk with God more informally that I am more likely to bring Him the gritty, everyday things that I'm wrestling with at the moment. I talk more readily about my pride, temptations that I may be experiencing or the disappointments that just occurred in my work or home life.
I also find myself praising Him for the small things that I often forget to thank him for other times. I praise Him more for the provision that He's given all around me, for the car I'm driving and the ministry and work that I am headed to that I love and which pays our bills. I tend to forget those things when I only pray at home or in church.
I pray more for individuals whose homes I drive by or who I see on the street. I am reminded to pray for businesses nearby and for other churches in our city.
And for some reason, I tend to listen to God more or at least I seem to hear Him better. Maybe it's the prompting of the needs around me that God speaks into, I don't know.
Nonetheless, I encourage you to consider more of your own all-day-long conversations with God as you play and work. You can't go wrong speaking with your Father on a regular basis!
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