Prayer and discerning how God speaks to people individually are topics of high interest, judging by results of a Barna Group study.

The random sample of 1,002 U.S. adults found two out of three adults (67%) claiming to have a "personal relationship" with Jesus that was currently active and that influenced their life.

Some segments were more likely than others to claim such a connection. For instance, women (72%) were more likely than men (62%) to do so. People who described themselves as mostly conservative on social and political matters were far more likely than those who saw themselves as liberal on such issues to connect with Jesus (79% compared to 48%).

And, among the "most instructive findings," the younger a person was, the less likely they were to claim to have an active and influential bond with Jesus. While 72% of adults 65 or older and 70% of Boomers (aged 46 to 64) had such a relationship, 65% of Busters (27 to 45) and only 52% of Mosaics (18 to 26) did as well.

Of the total sample, 38% were "completely certain" that Jesus spoke to them in ways that were personal and relevant to their circumstances. An additional 21% were "somewhat certain" that He did so.

Among the ways in which Jesus speaks to people cited were:

* influencing or connecting directly with their mind, emotions or feelings (52%)

* through the content of a Bible passage they read or which was read to them (41%)

* through sermon or teaching content concerning their immediate situation or need (34%)

*through a passage they read in a book other than the Bible (18%)

Source: The Barna Group

-To read the full report, go to http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/364-americans-feel-connected-to-jesus.