Believe it or not, it’s not just atheists and new converts to Christianity who have this question. Talking to God is something that even lifelong Christians often struggle with as well. The question arises, I think, because of an uncertainty about who God is and how He feels about us.
It’s also understandable if you listen to certain people pray and you don’t feel like praying at all afterward because their expertise in crafting a prayer seems intimidating to you.
In this blog post, I want to help us move past that mentality.
God is not a college English professor who is going to mark you based on your use of big words, proper grammar and sentence structure. He is a loving God who really just wants us to love Him like He loves us and to be in communion with us (in fact, Heaven itself is, as described by Tim Staples “a state of utter and absolute fulfillment...; a radical union with God that transcends anything we could envisage).
I want that to be really clear.
Let’s say one person prays as follows: “Heavenly Father, you are so good and holy, I praise your name. Thank you for this life that I am so grateful for.”
Then let’s say another person prays as follows: “Hello. I don’t really know how to pray. I just wanted to say thank you and to let you know that I want to get better at this and come closer to you.”
You perhaps think the “better prayer” is the first one. But are they?
Do we really think God assesses the caliber of the prayers based on how eloquently the words flow or how theologically sophisticated they are?
God discerns based on our hearts, and our hearts reflect our intent. If the first prayer above is memorized and spoken as part of a routine it is far less meaningful than the second prayer spoken in a time of meditation and deep love for God.
With that said: how do I speak to God? To put it simply, my advice is to start thinking of God as if He is your best friend. He is always there for you and always wants to hear from you. No exceptions.
So, if you are going through a tough time or if you’re celebrating a win, how would you share that with a friend? You’d open up and let your emotions spill out in your words. You’d explain what’s going on, how you feel about it and what your hopes are.
Make this a regular practice and don’t limit yourself. You can celebrate things as seemingly small as “today is a new day” or a worry as seemingly trivial as “I stubbed my toe”.
God just wants to be involved in our lives. He wants to be a part of it and wants us to include Him in all that we do. Start there.
Keep in mind that this gets a lot harder when things are going really well or really poorly. This is simply because pride can start to seep in (i.e., we begin to assume the good things that are happening are because of some merit of our own) or because things are so bad and we start to wonder why God would abandon us. We must avoid these traps.
While this is a good place to start, as with anything, it’s always possible to upgrade your ability to pray. Keep practicing, ask others what they do to develop their prayer life, and do not stop trying!
God bless,
Rigel
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