Spontaneous Prayer

I went to a chaplain's conference yesterday. One of the workshops discussed the idea of spontaneous prayer. For me this is an obvious tool though I gather it is a new idea for most chaplains. I suppose those in the Roman Catholic and Anglican-Episcopal traditions find it new because they are so used to prayer books. I gather that such an idea is foreign to Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. But if prayer is talking to God why not just tell Him what you want to say? All prayer is best as spontaneous. For us in the non liturgical churches written prayer is often used to remind us of our Christian heritage. It is novel, helpful but not the norm. In CPE I was admired for my gift at spontaneous prayer even though I did not think that it was all that exceptional. I listened to patients and was better able to pray for their needs. It was that simple and yet so many people make it so complex. I guess I could have taught the workshop but then maybe not. I may believe that prayer has power to change and heal but not every prayer. Only those prayers made to God in the name of Jesus have such power. Thus prayer cannot be taught to people who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior or are not seeking to know Him.