Daily Essential #2 - Prayer. Again, I will say that prayer is not something we do but who we are. Yes, prayer is an action, but for us to have a healthy understanding of the whole concept of prayer, we need to approach it as a natural byproduct of who we are--our identity. The Lord has been challenging my thinking towards prayer and what it means. For years I approached prayer as a daily task on God's to-do list for me. I saw it merely as a requirement that needed to be done so that He would be pleased with me. I don't approach my relationship with my wife this way. I don't spend time talking with her because I have to. After 29 years of marriage I want to spend time with her, talking and sharing our hearts with each other. Our relationship has grown deeper over the years and as a result, our communication has deepened and grown. I don't have to make it happen. It is just part of our relationship.

The same is true with our relationship with God. Prayer is a lifestyle of relationship that is much more than spending ten minutes every morning with Him. It is an on-going dialogue throughout my day, every day. This is the essence of what it means to "pray without ceasing." The deeper my relationship with Him is, the healthier my prayer life will be. It is very difficult to have meaningful dialogue with someone that you don't know very well.

Take time today to develop this Daily Essential in your life with Christ. Don't see it as something you have to do, but something you can't live without. We don't pray to live, we live to pray. Remember "it's not what you do, it's who you are" that matters most.