Prayer

1 Samuel: ¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Years ago as I was preparing a lesson on prayer, I ran across a definition that changed the way I think about prayer:  A spiritual response to God.  How Wesleyan is that?  So often we think of prayer as something we initiate on our own.  This definition, however, takes the emphasis off of ourselves and places it where it should be; on God.  When we feel the urge to pray, we are simply responding to God's call that "we need to talk!"  I like that emphasis.  It is also consistent with Wesley's Prevenient Grace theology.  It also emphasizes God's work as opposed to our own.
So often when I ask anyone if they've heard God speak this week, I get no response.  When I ask if they felt the urge to pray, I get a majority response.  We're hearing God, but just not recognizing it is Him!  We're like young Samuel thinking that someone is calling us because we "do not yet know the Lord" (v7). 
So think of prayer differently.  Think of prayer as a spiritual response to God.  Then think about every time you feel the urge to pray.  Learn to associate the two and you'll learn to recognize the still small voice of God and I think you'll be surprised at how often He speaks.