How Do You Pray?

Today I want to talk to you about prayer.

I know it's such a cliche for a faith-based blog to discuss prayer, it's obvious but it's so important! Prayer is the cornerstone of our relationship with God.

I believe in prayer and the power of prayer. I went through life thinking the same as most people, "prayer is talking to God". I have learned, though, that prayer is not simply talking to God, but conversing with Him. You wouldn't have a very good relationship with someone if you only ever talked to them and never let them respond, would you?

I'm not yet very good at listening to God. I've mentioned this before (here), but I struggle to keep my mouth shut, stop my mind whizzing and stay still long enough to hear Him. 

So I thought I'd keep the process of prayer in mind for a few days and see if I could come up with something to write on. My main idea was that there are so many different types of prayer, and lots of different types of people, each with their own ideas and thoughts regarding how and why they pray.

Like a lot of people, as a child I thought I had to be very formal in prayer, starting with "Dear God" or something along those lines. I'd remember my Ps and Qs and adopted my mum's phone voice when I spoke to God. As I've grown up and come to know God more as my relationship with Him has deepened, I've realised that I don't have to put on all those airs and graces. Do I speak to my mum as if I were talking to the queen? No! And I shouldn't feel like I have to speak to my Father that way, either.

I started to generally chat to God as I went about my day-to-day business. Rather than specifically sitting down to pray, I'd just keep Him in conversation throughout the day. I guess the way I'd describe it is like a child with their imaginary friend; someone who's always there, always with me, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing.

The other day I was looking at my new engagement ring and I was thanking the Lord for Riki (which I often do!) I thanked Him for bringing the two of us together and for being so apparent in our lives. I looked at my ring and I remember saying, "Lord, I know you said that you didn't want us to be too enamoured with jewellery and earthly possessions, but I just love sparkles!"

Now some people may think that I take too much of a conversational, friendly tone with God, but I don't think I do. This way of chatting in prayer works for me. As a child I would fall asleep, every night without fail, in the middle of my prayers. They were boring and it was as if I were writing a letter to a great uncle or something! It's taken me a long time but now I've found something that works for me, who can say it's wrong?

Our family had a bit of a scare last week. It was my brother's birthday and on the way home from being out with friends, he was mugged. He had been assaulted nine years ago and suffered a brain hemorrhage - it was very touch-and-go for a few days but after a lot of prayer, he came through it. He has some brain damage, mostly affecting his memory and fine cognitive skills, and is still affected by anxiety occasionally but in general he's absolutely fine. Obviously when I got the call at work on Saturday morning, I immediately thought the worst. I burst into tears and rushed home - I have no idea how I drove home - but the very first thing I did was pray. I then called a good friend from church and asked her to pray.

My brother was fine. Cuts and bruises and psychologically tender but he's going to be absolutely fine. I thank the Lord for him - I truly adore my brother and we're closer than most siblings. I pray for him regularly to find his way back to God - his soul has alrady been paid for by Jesus' blood and I know that the same seed sown into my own life as a child has been sown into his. I claim his soul for God and I will never stop!

So I believe in prayer and I have seen proof of its power on quite a few seperate occasions throughout my life. I don't think it matters how we pray; how we structure or vocalise our prayers, or even if we choose to say them in our head - sometimes I don't like to pray aloud. I don't think it matters to God in the slightest, He just wants us to talk to Him, and listen for His response. He wants us to share our lives with Him, and even though my argument for years was, "Well, God knows everything, why do I have to tell him stuff?" He wants us to want to spend time with Him; to share our innermost thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams. Just like we want for our own children - would you prefer to snoop through your child's journal and internet history or would you prefer for them to come and talk to you?

Whether we kneel on the floor, close our eyes and put our hands together, or simply chat to God as we would our family while we're washing the dishes, as long as we're seeking and spending time with our heavenly Father, what else matters?!

I'm interested, how do you pray?
~ Lisa