Psalm 86:3 — “Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.” (KJV)

Have you ever prayed about something in the morning, only to find yourself praying about that same thing again before lunch? And then, by the time evening rolls around, you’re still talking to God about it?

I think most of us have been there.

In Psalm 86, David offers a heartfelt prayer during a difficult time in his life. We don’t know exactly what enemy he was facing, but we do know he was troubled. Later in the psalm, David speaks of arrogant men who had risen against him and were seeking his life (verse 14).

But something in verse 3 catches my attention. David says, “For I cry unto thee daily.”

David wasn’t describing a quick prayer before breakfast or a few words before going to bed. He was describing a life of continually calling upon the Lord.

Some translations capture the thought this way: “For I call to you all day long.”

Think about that for a moment.

David didn’t just bring his troubles to God once and then go about his day as though he had to handle everything else himself. He kept coming back to the Lord.

Morning, noon, and night.

In fact, David expresses a similar pattern in Psalm 55:17: “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”

I wonder if we’ve made prayer too much of an event and not enough of a relationship.

Don’t misunderstand me. I believe we need a dedicated time each day to pray. There’s something important about getting alone with God, opening His Word, and spending time in His presence.

But prayer shouldn’t end when we say “Amen.”

We can pray while driving down the road, sitting at our desk, walking through the grocery store, or dealing with a difficult situation. We can whisper a prayer when someone comes to mind. We can thank God for an unexpected blessing or ask Him for wisdom before a difficult conversation.

And sometimes, like David, we may find ourselves praying about the same burden throughout the day.

That’s not necessarily a lack of faith. It can be an expression of our dependence upon God.

I’ve learned over the years that some of the most meaningful prayers aren’t long or eloquent. Sometimes they’re as simple as, “Lord, I need Your help right now.”

Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “Pray without ceasing.” That doesn’t mean we spend every waking moment with our eyes closed and heads bowed. It means we live in an ongoing attitude of prayer, maintaining an open conversation with our heavenly Father.

David understood something we sometimes forget: Prayer isn’t just something we do to start our day. It’s how we walk with God throughout our day.

So here’s a little challenge for all of us.

Tomorrow morning, begin your day talking to God. At noon, take a moment to talk to Him again. And before you go to bed, spend a few minutes thanking Him for His faithfulness.

But don’t limit your prayers to those three times. Talk to Him in between, too.

After all, He’s not just the God of our mornings or our evenings.

He’s the God of every moment in between.

Here’s my question for you: Is prayer something you check off your daily list, or is it an ongoing conversation with the Lord throughout your day?