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"It is easy for prayer to become a kind of muttering to oneself, becoming a bucket list of requests, with little connection to who the Lord is and what he is up to.
"It is easy to slide into thinking of prayer as the evoking of certain religious feelings or a set of seemingly spiritual thoughts, or a vague sense of comfort, awe and dependency on a higher power.
"It is easy for prayer to meander into vague pieties and to become virtually indistinguishable from thoughts. Sometimes it becomes indistinguishable from anxieties and obsessions!
"Sometimes prayer is confused with the act of stopping to ponder quietly and collect yourself.
"Sometimes prayer becomes a superstitious rabbit's foot, a ritual to keep bad things away and to ensure good things."
Instead, prayer is "an honest verbal conversation about things that matter, talking with someone you know, need and love."
Take Heart Daily Devotions to Deepen Your Faith, David Powlison