The best way to get to know a new friend is to spend time with him, and to talk with him.  The best way to get to know God better is to spend time with Him, and to talk to Him.  That’s what prayer is—simply talking to God.

You don’t need to be afraid to approach Him.  God welcomes your prayers and answers them.  There are 667 prayers recorded in the Bible, and the answers to 454 are recorded.  That is very encouraging.

The Bible is a book of prayer, and reading it and praying go hand in hand.  This is illustrated by my suggestion that you begin and end your daily quiet time in prayer.

When should you talk to God?  Actually, there is no wrong time.  You can pray whenever you want to.  But having a specific time to pray is as important as having a specific time to read His Word.  When you pray, you talk to God.  When you read His Word, He talks with you.

Psalm 55:17 says, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray.”  That’s a good pattern, but not a magical formula.  Actually, you need to pray more than that, and you dare not pray less.

The morning is an excellent time to worship God in prayer, to tell Him what He means to you and how much you love Him.  It is a good time to praise Him for who He is and what He has done.  It is a good time to seek guidance and blessing on all your activities of the day.

Noontime provides an opportunity for you to take stock of your day.  Ask God if what you have done in the morning is pleasing to Him.  If so, thank Him and ask for a similar afternoon.  If not, confess your shortcomings of that morning and ask God to pave your path with His wisdom the rest of the day.

Evening can be a delightful time of thanksgiving and communion with God.  Thank Him for your day, for your salvation, for His promises to you.  This prayer time may not be as long as the morning time, because you may become tired and sleepy.

How should you talk to God?  Perhaps you don’t really know how to pray and you are wondering what you should say.

That’s easy.  Say what you would say to any good friend who loves you.  You don’t need a special vocabulary, nor do you need to be eloquent.

Don’t be concerned if initially your prayers are short.  Martin Luther once said, “The fewer words the better prayer.”  Luther wasn’t suggesting that all prayers should be short.  He was saying that a sincere prayer that uses only a few words is better than an insincere prayer that uses many.

Do not be concerned if you are not a polished “pray-er.”  God prefers sincerity to polished.  If you cannot pray the way you want, pray as you can.  God knows your heart; He knows what you mean.

Who can help you learn to pray?  If you are experiencing difficulty in learning to pray, here’s some good news.  When you pray, you are not on your own—Jesus, God’s Son—and the Holy Spirit will help you in your prayer life.  That’s God’s promise!

When you have sinned and need to talk to God about it, God’s Advocate—His Son, Jesus—is there to help you.  “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”
(1 John 2:1).  And when you don’t know what to say, God’s Intercessor—His Holy Spirit—helps you.  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us”
(Roman 8:26 ).

 What should you pray for?  When men and women pray, they seldom ask for a change in character, but frequently they ask for a change in circumstances.  That is a huge mistake.  God controls our circumstances to improve our character.  So do not get into the habit of pleading for a change in your financial or your physical condition when you pray.  Allow your prayers to be a vehicle for God to shape your character into the character He intends you to become.

Prayer is the preface to purpose, the prologue to power and the prelude to peace.  As soon as you have come to Christ as your personal Savior, learn to come to the Father through Him in prayer.  It’s like talking with an old friend.