A courageous man is a man of prayer. But before you conjure up an image of yourself kneeling in your closet for an hour with a list, you need to know a courageous man of prayer is a man who communicates with his Father while doing what he needs to do and never dropping his guard against the insidious enemy he faces.

The Scripture says we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This can only mean God intends prayer to occur in all venues of life: kneeling, lying down, eating, riding, walking, running, working, loving, caring, kissing the kids good night, going to the ball game, the theater, fishing... although I must admit, I pray all the time when I'm fishing and it doesn't do any good.

Prayer is doing with God what God has already done with you. Said another way, God has shared everything He has with you, all of His hopes, dreams, aspirations, convictions, disappointments, hurts, and even the life of His eldest son in anticipation of your responding at the same level.

Courageous prayer is communicating with your Father and taking those closest to you on your journey toward His heart. As you communicate with them from your heart, and let them observe you doing the same with your Father, they see a model of the relationship you have with Him both through your communication with them and your communication with God.