Now I lay me down to sleep. . .

I've been thinking a lot about my prayer life lately. This quote had been on my mind lately.

"The purpose of prayer is to reveal the presence of God equally present all the time in every condition."
~Oswald Chambers

Sometimes, it seems like we look at prayer as a service we do for God. Like those prayers we prayed before bed when we were little, "Now I lay me down to sleep. . ." that we said because we knew praying before bed was what "good people" did. Though most of have advanced beyond prayers that rhyme, it doesn't exempt us from the "Check-off-the-prayer-box" attitude.
I've noticed in my life that I've taken prayer way too lightly. Prayer isn't a service we do for God. Prayer is for US! Prayer is a privilege God had given to us for our benefit. God knows what I'm going to say before I'm going to say it. But the act of me being able to talk to God reassures me that He's alive, involved, and cares about what is going on in my life. When I go to God with all my problems, worries, and insecurities, I'm acknowledging His presence in my life. I'm acknowledging the fact that He is powerful enough to take care of my every need. That's why prayer can bring unshakable peace, and stability that reaches beyond your circumstances.
I've noticed that those, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." prayer are not the kind that bring reassurance, peace, or stability.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
~ 2 Peter 5:6-7

When I pray with this attitude, I'm encouraged, and reassured. When I go to God with a specific issue that's bothering me and say, "God, help me with this, I can't handle it on my own." When I give up control of that situation and surrender it to God for Him to do what He wants with it. Those are the prayer that bring me stability and peace.
Developing a strong prayer life isn't easy, and I'm in no way claiming I've got it down. (As you can see, since this truth is just now dawning on me.) But I'm excited and thankful God is patient enough to continue to teach me these things, so I thought I'd share them.