I will tell you that if someone asks me to pray for them, they will get it. I don’t take it lightly. I am serious about prayer. I’m not one that will toss around Christian phrases like “thoughts and prayers” or "I'm praying for you". Sometimes it seems that people who say that don’t really do it. It’s just something they say because they feel the need to say something.
Prayer is our direct communication with God. Honestly it seems more like a one-way conversation but whether it feels like that or not, the key is communication. I have heard lots of sermons and read lots of books about prayer but the only way to get good at prayer is to pray.
I have also caught myself saying “all I can do is pray” when praying is the MOST I can do. There IS power in prayer. That doesn’t mean my prayer is always answered in the way I want it to be answered. The truth is that it is rarely answered the way I want but many times the answer is something I understand later. Prayer isn’t a gimmick that a person can use to get God to do what we want. It’s not a magic lamp that will grant us our wishes. It’s a way to tune into God. And in this world of so much noise, it is often a challenge to do that and tune out the distractions around us.
I have always been one to believe in prayer. I can’t say I’m good at it, but I press through and do my best. Many times, I get in my own way. It is always a challenge to keep the right motives about prayer. When I was younger, I tried to use prayer as a way to make a deal with God. Then when I didn’t get my “deal” I would get mad at God and pout. If God always gave into my demands, then He wouldn’t be God, would He? There’s one God and I’m not Him. Prayer isn’t a way to control God.
It is important to pray regardless of how we feel or the situation we are going through. It’s so easy not to pray. It takes discipline to pray when we don’t feel like it.
I can’t give you the magic formula for prayer. For many years I tried to copy others but you have to find the way that works for you. For me, I talk to Him like I talk to you. I carry on a conversation at times. Others have to scream or holler but God can hear a whisper or even a thought. Sometimes you don’t even have to say a word. I have actually learned that some of my best, heartfelt prayers are in silence. I came from a Pentecostal background where it seemed that those who prayed the loudest or prayed in the King James language were the ones who got God’s attention. God hears however our true heart speaks to Him. He isn’t impressed by our words.
God has never spoken to me in an audible voice and, honestly, that has made my experience difficult, but it has also taught me to become more focused. As much as I have wanted Him to speak to me, it changes nothing about my faith in Him. I know that if He ever chooses to do that then He will and it won’t be on my terms, it will be on His.
“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” Max Lucado
