What’s a Prayer Practice, Anyway

“What does your prayer practice look like?” is a question I ask every new spiritual directee or person seeking to go deeper in their relationship with God. I lead with this question because it gives me clues into the single most valuable habit pattern a person can develop if their goal is a richer relationship with God--one that continues to grow throughout their entire journey on this earth. It’s also the question that is met with the most confusion. 

Part of the reason for this confusion is that “prayer practice” is not a term that most Evangelical Christians (the directees that I most commonly meet with) are familiar with. I could say, “What does your quiet time practice look like?” and people might have a better idea of what I’m talking about. But a “quiet time” does not fully encapsulate what a lifestyle of prayer practice embodies. 

The easiest way to understand this terminology is to break down what is meant by the two words:

Prayer: Any communication with God that leads to a felt connection and deepening relationship with His presence. 

Practice:  A practical tool used on a regular/daily basis to grow the relationship between myself and God’s felt presence. 

For a deeper examination of the concept of prayer practices, woven through the testimony of my own journey of discovery with this rich resource, you can click here for more information.