We ought to spend so much time with people we love that there is plenty of evidence of the relationship. The Native Americans are talking about the many ways to knowing good friends. I like that.

When I was a boy I often walked a path to a couple of sacred spots. My family lived on a farm in southwestern Kentucky and my older brothers built a tree house hidden away in a wooded tract of land. A little deeper in those same woods was a secret pond where the Sims brothers — and occasionally their sister — could fish or look for frogs. Don't underestimate the mystique of a tree house and fishing place known only by a few kids!

We knew the way to the tree house and pond because we went there so often. And over time we made a trail. Eventually anyone could follow the well worn way. We would have never stayed away from the tree house and pond long enough for grass to grow on the path.

This can be true of friendship and it can also be true of prayer. Prayer is a trailhead to friendship with God, a pathway to the controlling influence of God's character, the junction where we merge with His mercy. Prayer leads us to God. So we need to be familiar with a time and place for prayer. Prayer is a way to knowing God.

We need to say this: Don't let grass grow on the path of prayer.

If you are not practicing prayer there is always time to begin. Start today. Trust me in this: no one feels 100% satisfied with their prayer life. We all wish we prayed more often and we long to make deeper petitions when we pray. When it comes to the journey of prayer no one has arrived. So begin where you are right now and see where you are in a week, a month, or even a year.

"Friend, there's grass on your path!"

Recently Tricia, a wife and mom of three kids, began to pray daily for the first time in her life. She has joined over 300 other people in our church family in 40 days of walking in prayer together and listening for God's voice. Tricia recently e-mailed me to say:

I am embarrassed and proud to admit that for the first time in my Christian life my prayer life has true meaning. I set aside personal time to work through the days lessons/thoughts and special time for prayer. I find myself praying more than once a day which is something new to me and I have finally found my way to my knees in prayer, something I never fully grasped before now.

The Reason for God: Belief in God in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller Responding to the questions of open skeptics and ardent believers, Keller draws from literature, philosophy, reason, and real-life conversations to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief.

Danny Sims is the preaching minister at the Altamesa Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas, and a longtime Heartlight supporter and friend.

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