Let’s Talk

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22)

Let’s take a look at Chapter 14 today called, “Let’s Talk”…

…Yes, let’s talk with God. Let’s enjoy Him in a new way and see prayer as a building block when it comes to our relationship with Him. He’s not looking for anything spectacular when it comes to the form of prayer you use. He’s simply searching for your heart. He wants you to just get real with Him. Open up your soul; express to Him what you are feeling and what you desire.

There is an email that has cycled through my inbox a few times. This story is about a man who does not know how to pray. His story begins with a pastor coming to see him on his death bed. His daughter had made a request for this pastor to come see him. While the pastor was there, he saw an empty chair next to the bed and assumed that the man must have known he was coming. So he asked the man and the man simply shared this story . . .

“All of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer, the old man continued, until one day four years ago; my best friend said to me, ‘Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because Jesus promised, “I will be with you always.” Then just speak to Him in the same way you’re doing with me right now.'”

The old man goes on to share how he did exactly that. He got to a point that he enjoyed it so much, that he started to do it a couple of hours every day. So many times we look at prayer as drudgery and don’t know how we can possibly make it through even a few minutes of it. But the truth of the matter is that prayer is simply a conversation with God. An utterance of what is inside of our heart…

…Prayer does not have to be a structured thing. Yes, it should be a part of the structure of our lives, but prayer itself does not have to come in only one form. Your prayer life will be different than my prayer life, and that’s the way it should be. God wants you to express your heart to Him. What is it that you would like to say to Him? Can you take the time to imagine that He is right before you and just wants to have a conversation with you? Try it! You might be surprised at how much easier praying becomes when you are focusing on praying to an actual person. He is someone who truly cares about every part of you.

How do you look at prayer? Do you enjoy the time you have with God? Do you know that He is listening to you? Take the time to enjoy the moments throughout the day and converse with God. Remember, He is listening and He’s always looking forward to the next time you stop to share your prayers with Him.

Dear Father God, I continue to be so blessed that I serve the only living God who not only hears my prayers, but answers them too. You continue to amaze me as You guide me through life! Please continue to teach me how to have an open and completely honest relationship with You.

Always Learning,