Prayer

Prayer


Let's talk about prayer.  I know what we are taught and what we think we need to do and all the hows and why we should be praying.  And none of that is wrong.  It might be misguided and may not be what God has intended but if that is what you need to do to get closer to God, then God is all for it. He listens no matter what you are doing or how you are doing it.  God is there, always and forever.

So let's talk about what God is telling me we need to be doing.  Need to be doing is kind of harsh but what I mean is, God thinks of prayer in a different way.  Or that is what he is telling me.

The first question I would ask is, how often do you talk to God.  Once a week.  At night before bed. First thing in the morning.  At church.  There is no wrong answer to that question.  Whenever you think it is time to talk to God and whenever you feel comfortable with your prayers, then God is understanding and listens to whatever you have to say.  God wants to hear from you.  He is never too busy.

What I would say, and what God has told me, is there is no set time for prayer.  Or, more importantly, no set way to pray.  God is listening all the time.  He is always there.  It goes back to the knowledge that God lives within you.  He is there, all the time, every day, in every way.  You cannot hide from God.  You cannot think, say, or do anything that God does not know about.  So when are you talking to or praying to God?

Always.

Everything you say, everything you think, everything you do, God is listening.  He is there.  He is within you.  He knows what it is you want, what it is you desire, what your inner most private thoughts are.  He is listening.

Scary, I know.  It means there is no way to hide from God.  It means you cannot tell yourself that if you say or do something, God might not be listening or he might not be watching.  He is always listening and He is always watching.  He is there, within you, knowing you.  He is God.

So what does that mean.  What does it mean about praying and going to church, and having your God time.  It means all times are God's time.  He is listening.  It means, you do not have to go to church to pray.  It means you do not have to bow your head or sink to your knees or go into your prayer closet to talk to God.  He is listening all the time.  And what's more, he doesn't care where or how you do it.

God wants the conversation.  He wants to talk to you.  He wants you to talk to Him.  He wants you to feel comfortable talking to Him.  He is our God.  He created us.  He loves us.  He just wants to be in a relationship with you.

If you only feel comfortable talking to God in prayer or kneeling in church or singing his praises in song, then God is all for it. Whatever it takes for you to talk to Him.  He wants you to talk to Him and more importantly, he wants to talk to you.  So however you can get it done, it is ok with God.  He understands and he wants the conversation.

And a conversation is what it should be.  YOU CAN talk to God.  You can.  In fact, you cannot do anything but talk to God.  He knows everything.  If you have a stray thought, if you speak a bad word, he knows.  You cannot hide it from Him.  He knows.  But it is the conversation he wants.

I used to bow my head and kneel on my knees when I talked to God.  It was right and appropriate for what I needed to have that conversation.  But one day, God asked me why.  Why do I feel it is necessary to do that.  Why is it that I only feel comfortable talking to God as if he was not my friend. As if he was not my savior and the one thing in the whole world that I can trust and believe in.  Why did I feel it was necessary to not speak to him as I would speak to any other person I knew or met.

Of course, my answer was, because you are God.  I owe you everything.  I must show my worship and respect for you by avoiding your gaze, by making myself humble in front of you.

God said stand up. Look me in the eye. Say what I need to say and talk to Him like he was my friend, my father, my mentor, my strength.  Look me in the eye and say what you need to tell me.  You are my child and I know what your thoughts are and I know that you respect and worship me.  I want to be your friend also.  I want you to be able to talk to me, any time, anywhere, about anything.  Hold your head up. Speak, and I will listen.  Think and I will answer.  I am here, always within you, always ready to answer you, and always there to guide you.

As you can probably tell, this was a real revelation for me.  It was not what I have always been taught.  It was not how you 'pray to God'.  God sees nothing wrong with prayer, but he wants to be your friend.  He wants the conversation.  He wants you to be able to talk to him and feel comfortable doing it.

He told me, 'I am God.  I created you.  But I created you so I could be with you.  Not be distant and something that is to be worshipped but you as my friend. You are the person I want to be with, that is why I created you'.

Again, I was taken aback.  Not what I had been taught.  Not what I understood to be the truth.  I know it sounds like I am criticizing the church or religion as it is taught and lived today.  And maybe I am, but you need to understand that what is done today and in the past is how Man has attempted to interact with God.  We have done our best.  Maybe it is sometimes self-serving for the church or the religion but if it gets you closer to God, then God says, so be it.  He does not turn away people who are trying to be in a relationship with Him.  He accepts it for what it is and just wants for you to seek Him in any way you can.

But what I am here to say is it does not have to be that way.  It does not have to be a 'religious experience' to talk to God.  He just wants to be in a relationship with you.  He wants to be your friend, or your father, or inspiration, or even your servant.  Whatever it is you need, he will be that for you.  He wants the relationship.

It sounds grandiose and self-congratulating but I talk to God all the time.  Every day, every minute, there is no time that I am not aware that God is there, he is listening and he understands.  I do not say that as if I have something that everyone else does not have.  This applies to everyone.  We all talk to God whether me mean to or not.  He is there.

The trick is, are we listening to what he has to say to us.  Because, he answers us.  He tells us what we need to do and he answers all our prayers.  We just need to or learn how to listen.  But that is another discussion.  Something else God wants me to tell others but I will discuss that in another entry.

The point of this entry is to get across to you that God is your friend.  Treat Him as a friend.  Talk to Him.  Do not be afraid.  Do not let 'prayer time' get in the way of a conversation with God.  When you need it, when you want the relationship, when you need His help, talk to Him.  He wants to hear from you.

I was going to end this entry with that but God wants me to say a couple more things.  I will probably  edit this and make it flow a little better but then again, God has a lot to say so I might not.

What God wants me to say is, if you have to change your voice, if you have to change your speech or the way you talk to speak to God, then that is not talking to God. It might be 'prayer' and he wants you to know he understands, but it is fake. His words not mine.  It is not being with God but it is for show, it is for religion, it is more about you and how you want other people to see you than it is a real conversation with God.  It has its place.  Some people need to hear what you have to say and they need the trappings and religiosity of that type of prayer, but it is not you having a conversation with God.  It is not you expressing your thoughts and feelings to Him.  He knows it and he wants you to change,  Speak to Him.  Talk to Him.  He is your friend.  He is your father.  Treat Him as such.

Most times, when you hear prayer like that, and again, there is nothing wrong with it, but you need to know why you are doing it and why it might not be necessary.  When I pray like that, in a loud voice so everyone can hear what I have to say, it is for someone in that room, or within hearing of my voice.  It is because God has told me someone needs to hear that and someone needs to know that God is here and you can speak to Him.  Never think that is how you talk to God.  But it has its place, and it is a good place, but it is not how God wants you to speak to Him.

For me, and I only have myself and what God tells me to go on, prayer or conversation with God is private.  It is between me and Him.  No one needs to know about it and I should never make a spectacle of it or myself.  Then again, as I write this, he says there will be a time and place for me to do that but He will let me know when that is.  But for me, my conversations with God are private and it should be for you.  That is your conversation with God.  No one needs to know, unless God tells you to tell others.  But that goes back to listening to what God has to say.  Hopefully, God will allow me to teach others how to do that, because I don't know how or why I talk to or listen to God, it just is.  Maybe that is why I use my own experiences as an example.  Maybe, through my stories, others can get some kind of revelation on how they too can talk to and listen to God.

Maybe, it's up to Him.