It is a little shocking to say this, but it is true: You don’t have to pray out of obligation if you don’t want to. God loves you even if you don’t pray. God loves you unconditionally.

But, if you have a deep longing to be with God through prayer, you might be called to a life of contemplative prayer. Kevin shared a rough roadmap to contemplative prayer.

Stage one is talking to God. This is a critical way to pray. We talk to God about our needs, we intercede for others, and we share our hearts with God. As important as this is, there is another level of prayer.

Stage two is listening to God. God speaks to us and we can learn to recognize his voice. The best way to listen to God is through contemplative reading of and praying with Scripture. Kevin shared a couple of other ways to listen to God and how to discern the voice of God from distractions.