Conversations With God

Prayer. Does it come easy or is it some big looming task you are afraid to try? Prayer is simply a conversation with a God who loves you more than you could ever imagine. One of my favorite songs about prayer is "Before It Was Said" by FFH:

Every day I sit and pray to God above
To watch over me and my family
But every day I seem to pray the same old thing
In the same old way, and I start to think

That maybe I should change
And find something better to say
But I've learned to believe
You always hear me when I pray

So I get down on my knees
'Cause I'm stronger than these
Voices inside of my head
They try to deceive me
And make me believe
That I would be better instead
To take my requests and put them to rest
But You're already one step ahead
You knew just what I would say
Before it was said

Every night I lie awake wondering
If You're listening to every heartbeat
You've told me that You know the deepest part of me
And You'll watch over me and my family

So I guess I shouldn't change
'Cause You hear every word that I say
And I knew You are here
When I come to You this way

So I get down on my knees
'Cause I'm stronger than these
Voices inside of my head
They try to deceive me
And make me believe
That I would be better instead
To take my requests and put them to rest
But You're already one step ahead
You knew just what I would say
Before it was said

So I guess I shouldn't change
'Cause You hear every word that I say
And I knew You were here
When I knelt down today

So I get down on my knees
'Cause I'm stronger than these
Voices inside of my head
They try to deceive me
And make me believe
That I would be better instead
To take my requests and put them to rest
But You're already one step ahead
You knew just what I would say
Before it was said

This weekend as I drove to a friend's graduation, I was randomly playing some old CD's I hadn't listened to in awhile. I found an old FFH CD and popped it in, jamming out and singing at the top of my lungs. When this song came on, I sang along. And then I realized something new about prayer.

I believe prayer is simply talking with God. A lot of times we hear great preachers and men of God pray using big words and flowery phrases with "Thee" and "Thou". We read great prayers of old. And many times we feel intimidated thinking there is no way we can measure up. However, God is not impressed by flowery lines and flowing phrases. He is touched by the person praying and by their sincerity and the intent of their heart.

If your view of prayer is one of formality where you have to set aside a specific time and place every day to pray then I can understand why it can seem to be such a daunting task. Now I am not saying that having a daily quiet time with God is not important or a good thing to do. It is. However, if you will view prayer as simply a conversation with God, something you can do anytime, anywhere, I think you may pray more and come to enjoy these moments with the Father.

You can pray all throughout the day. In the shower. Brushing your teeth. Doing the dishes. On the way to work. As you lay down to sleep. While you are typing on the computer. (In fact, I prayed a lot while typing this because my computer froze up.) These prayers do not have to be formal. They don't have to contain big words and big requests. They are simple and to the point conversations. It is during these times that I personally can be more honest and open with God than I could ever be with anyone else. I view these moments with the Father just as I would talking with a friend or my parents or my boss. Prayer is meant to be a means of communication with God. And just as I would communicate with any person here, I can communicate with my Father. I may request He keeps my family safe while I'm brushing my teeth. I may thank Him for the beautiful cluster of purple flowers on the side of the road while driving to work. I may ask for wisdom how to order my day. And as I do this, each moment becomes a holy moment. A moment when the God of the universe bends His ear to hear my voice.

And this brings me back to the "something new" I learned this weekend. As I listened to the words of the song I really connected with the line about praying the same old thing every day and thinking I should change my prayer. I know I pray some of the same things over and over and over. Yes, I add new requests here and there and a new praise. But my basic prayers are similar each day. And then I realized as those words played over and over - If I view my prayers as conversations with God and think of them as I think of conversations with others, then why be so worried about repeating the same things? God is not so worried about the content of our prayer as He is the content of our heart. Every morning, my mother and I have almost the same conversation over breakfast. She asks how I slept. I answer and ask her the same. She asks if I want coffee. I ask about her blood sugar. We have a version of this same conversation almost daily. Does it make it any less important? No. Does it mean we are just making small talk and don't care about each other's answers? No. We are both genuine in asking and interested in the answers.

I believe the same holds true for our talks with God. Yes, I may repeat myself. But you know what? Like the song says, He already knows what I'm going to say before I say it. And He does care and is interested in the mundane, repetitive things in my life. He enjoys fellowship with us. He made us to have fellowship with Him. Part of that fellowship is prayer. Simply coming before Him to talk and share our day, our desires, our hurts, our needs. Talking to Him about anything, anytime, anywhere. And He promises to listen. If we will learn to converse with Him throughout the day about the normal routine things of life, it will become easier to come to Him with the big stuff we face, as well. And He will become the first person we seek answers and advice from. Prayer will become just as natural as breathing.

So this week, I challenge you to view prayer in a new way. Start learning to just talk with God throughout the day just as you would talk to your family or friends. He is always there, ready and waiting to fellowship with His creation. He can't wait to hear what you have to say. We may not always get the answer we want. But if you will learn to view prayer as simply talking with your Father, you will learn the answer isn't as important as the time you spend asking.