Are you familiar with the 5 love languages? One of them is called “quality time.” It means togetherness—and not just proximity but attention. Quality time is two people sharing themselves in the moment, focused on the relationship.
Jesus teaches that you can improve your prayer life by appreciating prayer as quality time with God. “When you pray … Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you … Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8).
So pray more about God. Pray because you are in a relationship with God. Pray as quality time with God. Focus more on the relationship than the results. And your prayer life will improve. God will see you, will notice you, will love you, and will give you not just his things but himself.
God your Father not only sees you, he knows you. He doesn’t need you to make it clear, to explain how things will work if _____, to tell him how to answer. He already knows. He just wants you to ask in a way that trusts that he knows, ask in a way that enjoys being with him, ask in a way that says, “Thank you, God, for us, for being together in this time of prayer, for always loving me as your child. I want more of you.”
Do you know someone who is very good at praying more about God? No one has ever prayed more about God than he does. No one has ever been closer to God in a relationship than he is (yet also further from God than he was). No one has ever been in more painful, desperate circumstances (yet at that time, prayed not about himself but about his relationship with the Father). The Son of God—Jesus—prayed in relationship, as quality time with his Father.
He escaped early in the morning to the mountainside. He resisted the impulse to please people and focused on pleasing his Father. And his prayers merged into his Father’s prophecies and promises with powerful, world-changing results that serve and save you, bless and keep you, and give you the same privilege to pray to the same Father, who loves you with the same love, and answers your prayers with the same power.
Start praying not so much to get things done, but to be with someone. More about relationship than results. To enjoy quality time with God.
PRAYER: Thank you, God, for us; for being together in this time of prayer, and for always loving me as your child. I want more of you. Help me today to do everything you want me to do. No more. And no less. Amen.
FURTHER MEDITATION: Explore the 5 love languages and find yours at https://www.5lovelanguages.com.