In the last issue of this article I suggested that one form of prayer that we might use is memorized prayer (i.e., those prayers that we learned very early in our lives). There are, however, other types of prayer. Spontaneous Prayer is a second type of prayer. Spontaneous prayer is the natural response of the heart to the presence of God. It may arise as a result of perceiving God’s hand in nature or in some event in our lives. Often it arises from the need for help in a situation. This is a spontaneous reaching out to God in our own simple words or even in pregnant silence. It can be the result of reading and reflection on the New Testament or some other spiritual book or even some event in life.

The danger with spontaneous prayer is that it can become too restricted, limited primarily to our own needs or the needs of those close to us. It often takes the form of petitioning God for something that we want or think we need. As a result we may skip over our need to be thankful, to praise God and to ask for forgiveness. We may even confuse reading and reflecting on the meaning of Scripture with praying. Then the method which should lead into prayer becomes the object of our activity. To overcome this danger, we must open our hearts and minds to see the larger picture of God’s world and of God’s love. In this way we can talk to God about the needs and the concerns of all God’s people.

Another real danger with spontaneous prayer is, since it typically can be based on our expression of need, that we may become disappointed with God if He doesn’t answer our prayer in the way that we want. There is nothing wrong with using this type of prayer as a means of discussing the various challenges of our lives with God but not expecting Him to rescue us from these challenges. Frequently when I talk to God about my life’s struggles, without asking Him to rescue me, I find that I gain greater insight and strength to deal with the struggles. Prayer is the conversation we have with God to form a relationship with Him.