Life is difficult. It gets tiring. It gets difficult. Unexpected things happen. And on and on the list can go about all the difficulties, right? They’re there. They always will be. So now what? I think one of our greatest ways to combat all this junk that comes along is through prayer. Prayer is important, right? I think most people who probably read my blog would respond with a confident “yes” to that question. That’s good. But I think that’s just a start. Many of us, myself included have been blessed to grow up in the church, in a great family - but there is a potential downside to all of this. It’s being used to things like prayer. It becomes common. I think there is danger with something like prayer becoming common. Common prayers aren’t in the amazing bible stories you learned in Sunday school. Common prayers come before you eat. Common prayers don’t ask for anything crazy. Common prayers are repeated and over time have little feeling attached to them. Common prayers come from a feeling of religious duty. Common prayers become a chance to look and sound right with little risk. I think we might be better off to not pray if it’s a heartless, common prayer. In other words, if we don’t mean it, let’s not bother saying it. But let’s not stop there, in a quiet prayer life. Let’s make some noise - some meaningful noise. Let’s pray like we believe we’re talking to the creator of the universe. Let’s pray for things to happen that will only happen if our prayer is answered by God. Can you imagine what our lives would look like? Honestly, we probably can’t imagine very well, because we may be so used to the common that the miraculous potential doesn’t really cross our thoughts anymore. What do you have to lose? Just try it - see what could happen. See if your relationship with God doesn’t feel a little more real than it does now. See if it affects those you lead. See if a couple of your crazy requests don’t get answered. Let’s not let prayer become common. Let’s remember the awesome power we can tap into through prayer!