6.18.2009
Prayer to me is so simple, yet so difficult all at the same time. Prayer is a conversation between you and God. We let Him know how much we love Him, confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, ask for patience, wisdom, understanding, faith to make it through, and continue to connect with Him like we do in our other relationships we care so much about.
But to me it started out really difficult because... I couldn't hear the response! I would pray and pray and talk with God and never hear anything back. The first time I prayed I literally waited for an audible voice. Seriously. I thought God would speak back (like in my head or something) and I would get an answer. Later I came to understand that God wasn't going to audibly speak to my ears or communicate His response via a plane writing it in the sky... but He was going to answer and He always has.
Here are some scriptures that talk about prayer from God's perspective: click here. But, in communicating with God- I fell into some traps. I began to pray in big words, use God's name 85 times in a prayer, pray things I would never say in any other instance... all because that is what I was taught to do. I was taught a formal way to pray and it was the only way according to those teaching me. Much later I learned God cared more about my heart and the real communication we had and not so much about whether I said His name all those times or bowed my head just right with my hands in the right position.
Now, when I sometimes revert back to those things, I believe God still knows my heart now. And as you begin to talk to God and build that daily relationship with Him- He'll see your heart too. And if you say things differently than someone else or talk to God in a more relaxed way... I believe He is excited because you are simply bringing yourself into community with Him.
And, prayer is powerful. There is no doubt about that in my mind. In James 5:16 we hear this message loud and clear: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Powerful and effective. When we drop all the chaos going on around us and pray to God and talk to Him about life, joys, sorrows, sins, intervene on someone's behalf, and more- God shows up and does what only He can do... and it's amazing.