Do you know how many religions there are in the world? To be statistically counted a religion has to have a major system of belief and hierarchy, or have so many members that it cannot be ignored. As of 2005 there are 22 recognized major religions.  

      Do you know what is perhaps most interesting about that?  They all pray. Have you ever considered that?  All people pray.  Can you remember praying before you were saved? You probably knew you were praying to God, and you certainly hoped that He heard you. Yet at that time we were the same as any Islamic, Buddhist or Hindu, praying to a higher power
    
     Because man and woman are created in the image of God, we all pray.  People are born with the instinctive need to pray, just like we have an instinct to eat.  So when does prayer become more than a reflex? It begins when we have decided to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Then the journey of prayer becomes a part of our personal relationship with the Lord.  
    
     Prayer is a learned process. (Luke 11:1) We may begin with petitions (Phil. 4:6, I Tim. 2:1), then move on to questions, and as we spend more and more time in prayer it becomes a conversation with our Lord. It will include times of adoration (Ps. 106) intercession (Rom. 9: 1-2) and sometimes confession (Ezra 10:1). Prayer is our direct link to God; our most viable form of communication. If you are praying to God more than you are talking on your cell phone, you are probably praying well. It is true that most of us will never mimic the prayer life of Luther (3 hours every morning), but we all have been given the opportunity from God to bend His ear anytime and for any reason. (Ps. 5:1, Eph. 6:18, I Thess. 5:17)

     So take to heart Jesus’ admonishment not to pray like a babbling ignorant, but pray to your Loving Father who already knows you and your needs. (Mt. 6)