Prayer: A Spiritual Communion With God

The first week's lessons have revolved around the purpose of prayer. Here is my understanding:

To actualize God's will in our lives.

I see prayer as a constant spiritual conversation with God. I believe the intent to be about aligning our hearts with His holy heart, in an effort to permit God to continually harvest the seeds of which He planted. We are in the present when we are in communion with God, the hope to become what God chooses for us as it directly relates to His purpose. 

"Prayer is simply opening our lives to God, acknowledging our total dependence on Him. Prayer is not limited to a segment of our lives or to a scheduled event in our days. It is an attitude of receptivity in which we live every moment. It is being open to Him at all times. It is living in the presence of God, always in the process of being reshaped and recreated by Him." ~ Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Live A Praying Life, New and Revised Anniversary Addition 

Week 2 expounds on the definition of prayer. 

If I were to define it in a concise sentence, it would go as follows: 

A spiritual communion with God, by way of praise, thanksgiving, confession, and supplication. 

Praise: to give glory to God, acknowledging His power in all that is good; to worship the Heavenly Father; to reciprocate His love. 
Thanksgiving: expressing appreciation for the gifts and promises, given and kept by the One and Only God. 
Confession: acknowledging our sins to the Almighty, to create a clean slate before Him, resulting in forgiveness given by the Good Lord. 
Supplication: humbly asking God for His assistance in our lives, recognizing our dependence upon Him.  

Here is the assignment, written verbatim from prayer study:

Finish the following thought: Prayer is

a. the way to get things from God.
b. the way to bring your needs to God's attention.
c. like a phone line between me and God. God is not paying 
   attention until He hears me say, "Dear God."
d. none of the above.

My thoughts: d. none of the above. 

Turn this promise into a prayer.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

My prayer: Dear Lord, please bring your plans for me to fruition, may I prosper in Your ways and live continued hope in following Your path for me. I thank you for keeping your promises, including those of the future: eternal life with You in heaven. Amen

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Prayer Study Day 7, Part 1 here. 

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For credit purposes, the Prayer Study I am using is: 

Live A Praying Life, New and Revised Anniversary Addition 

Jennifer Kennedy Dean ~ www.prayinglife.org 

This is not an endorsement. This just happens to be the prayer study I am using, and I have decided to share my study experience, here on The Paisley Butterfly. 

My Bible: Life Application Study Bible, New International Version ~ Zandervanbibles.com. 
Why I like this bible: There are extensive notes on the verses. Each page has more notes:bible verse ratio. 

Here is a link to an online bible -- there are other online bibles out there, this one just happens to be the one I use most. 

Again, listing my bible references is not for the purpose of endorsement, but an effort to appropriate credit to materials used.