"A Time to Pray"

'Hold me Lord, in Your arms...' You know the song I am thinking of? I heard someone say once, that it did not matter how we prayed to God, but that we just would speak to Him; even little short prayers throughout the day were adequate for fellowship, and would sustain a good relationship with God. That might be true; however, I am thinking that to really have an intimate relationship with the Father, we must make a time to pray; to really spend the time required to hear from Him. I have a really good example of this requirement in my current relationship with my wife, which I do believe that I have shared before, but maybe not like this. Because, if I come in and say hello to her every thirty minutes, kiss her on the check, and then dart back out of the room, the effect upon our relationship is not the same as when I sit or lay with her for hours at a time. Don't get me wrong, she will acknowledge me darting in and out and saying hello, but there is no intimacy established, only acknowledgement of my presence. Here we can see the small example of what it is like for God, as we dart in and out of His presence throughout our busy day, to say hello. God will acknowledge our presence, and He hears our voice, but there is no time required for us to know Him; to really feel the heartbeat of the Father, we must take the time to rest in Him. To really know Him requires us to fellowship with Him: and darting in and out of His presence does not constitute fellowship...