I have been thinking. I know that it is a surprise, but I have been thinking.

How many times does the Bible talk about prayer? Well, the words pray, prayer and prayers occur in 508 verses in Scripture. Thanks and thanksgiving occur in 100 verses. Those are the easy ones. O Lord and other phrases occur many times. And then there are the Psalms, which are songs, but most are prayers, as well. Isaiah and Jeremiah are full of the same things. Daniel, in the den of lions, lifted up his voice. I don't think anyone has ever counted the moments of prayer in the Word. Let's aim low and say that verses dealing with prayer number around 2,000 to 3,000 times, although I expect it to be much more.

Before a Bible Study begins, I would ask what they wanted to study. One time the class, in unison, said The Book of the Revelation. So, we started. After about the third week and still on the first chapter, someone asked, "When are we going to get to the good stuff?" Well, they had a long wait. The good stuff, the plagues, the death, the destruction and all that stuff doesn't even start until after the third chapter. But they wanted the good stuff. The birth of Jesus? Just a small portion of Scripture. The death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus? Quite a bit more, but still not as much as prayer.

Prayer is not interesting, it is not exciting (unless it leads to a miracle), it is filler, at best. And yet.....

Years ago, while I was staff clergy at a funeral home, the owner and I were discussing something to raise moral amongst the employees. I suggested a Bible study at 7 AM on Wednesday mornings. The owner loved the idea. I decided I would do the study and I asked another worker to do prayer time. Really, I was just trying to involve him. As it progressed, it became apparent that the group was coming for the prayer time. These people went to many different kinds of churches, most of which followed a strict schedule. They had never been exposed to real prayer. What an eye opener to me and to the others, as this humble and quiet man took us to the throne of grace. Gradually, employees were praying together in the offices, out in their cars and eventually, with distraught families at visitations. We became joyous in prayer. 

Try this on; praise is empty without prayer. The feeling of Christmas is empty without prayer. The good feeling at church or with family is empty without prayer. There is a reason prayer is probably the most talked about thing in the Bible; IF WE ARE PEOPLE OF PRAYER, WE WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD HAS FOR US. 

Thanksgiving. The act of giving thanks, is prayer.  

Blessings to you.