When we approach God’s throne in prayer, we often bow our heads, close our eyes, and kneel. I love doing these gestures because they signify respect, honor, and glory to God. They also help focus our attention solely on the prayer and can be great examples in teaching our children to pray and respect our Heavenly Father.

One thoughtful response to this point put it well: we often bow our heads and hide our faces and eyes out of respect, honor, and submission to Him—especially in times when we need forgiveness, confidence, or assurance—because He is our King. Most of the time, however, we can come confidently and unashamed. We are assured of our place with Him through His Son, and we simply want or need a Father to talk to: a Father who listens, hears, cares, and possesses unending wisdom. He is the Father who is infinite love, who allows us our choices (even the bad ones) and still says, “I’m here. I’m listening. I still love you.” We can share our best days and our worst days with Him, talk about the beauty of creation, or wrestle with hard questions, because He is both our King and our Father.

This said, prayer has no limits! We can pray anywhere at any time in any situation or environment. We don’t pray to impress those around us; we pray to have time with our Creator, say thank you, or ask for help. God is family, and no one loves us the way God loves us, and no one has the ability to help us more than God does. So we can pray out loud or in our mind without a single word spoken, with our eyes wide open, driving down the road, cutting grass, fishing, hunting, cooking, walking the dog, or holding the baby.

God has given each of us the avenue of direct prayer through the name of Jesus, His only begotten Son, so why not take advantage of this incredible opportunity and pray often? God wants to hear from us!

Hebrews 4:14-16; Matthew 6:9; Psalm 47:7; Isaiah 33:22; Isaiah 63:16; John 20:17; Romans 8:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:13; Romans 12:12; Matthew 6:5-7; 1 John 5:14-15; Luke 15:10; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 4:8; Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:25.

God First!