This was my devotion tonight and I thought I would share some of it with you. Enjoy and watch your toes.

Like so many people, I struggle to pray. Even with good intentions, I’d often get distracted or even bored when I prayed. For way too long, I have tolerated faithless prayers but know God wants more for me, and I want to know Him more intimately.

We serve a God who can do more than we can ask or imagine. So it’s time to stop playing it safe. We weren’t created for a life of comfort. We are passionate and powerful, charged with changing the world in radical ways! As I study the Bible more, I marvel at the variety of prayers spoken by God’s people. Not only did they pray about things that were incredibly personal but sometimes they seemed to gently whisper to a loving God. Other times they yelled at him in agony and frustration.

Their prayers were honest. Desperate. Fiery. Gutsy. Real. And here I am praying that God would keep me safe and bless my burger and fries.

Maybe you can relate. It’s not that you don’t believe in prayer. You do. But you’re stuck in a rut. You pray about the same struggles and the same requests. In the same way. At the same time. If you even try to pray at all. You probably know you should pray more. And with more passion. More faith. You want to talk to God and to listen to him, to share an intimate conversation like you would with your spouse or best friend. You really want to but aren’t sure how. So your prayers remain safe.

Flat. Dull. Predictable. Stale. Boring.

For too long, I had tolerated lackluster, faithless, and mostly empty prayers. I know God wants more for me, and I want to know him more intimately, despite my hesitation about what it would require of me.

When we’re seeking to communicate with God in real, vulnerable, and intimate prayer, he’s not wrapping us in a bubble of spiritual safety. Instead he bursts our what’s-in-it-for-me bubble and invites us to trust him when we don’t know what he will do next. Some days we feel blessed. Other days we face challenges, opposition, and persecution. But every moment of dangerous prayer will be filled with his presence.

But be warned. There will be bumps. When you start to pray things like “search me, break me, send me,” you may experience valleys. Attacks. Trials. Pain. Hardship. Discouragement. Even heartbreak. But there will also be the joy of faith, the marvel of miracles, the relief of surrender, and the pleasure of pleasing God.

It’s time to stop praying safe.

It’s time to start talking, really talking—and really listening—to God.