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How do you pray? This
might seem like a silly question to some. It might be extremely difficult for
others. It might be a question that has never or rarely entered your mind. So
take a minute (or 2 or 3 or…) and think about it- How do you pray?
Do you sit in the
silence of the morning before everyone else in your family is awake or maybe
the quiet of the evening when they have all gone to bed? Do you curl up with
your Bible and your favorite praise CD or pick up your journal and head for a
secluded place that no one knows but you? Do you stand at the sink praying
something new with each dish that you wash or maybe with each step on the
treadmill you utter your words to God?
When I was little,
early elementary age, I prayed by repeating after whichever person had the
honor of teaching my unruly Sunday school class or by folding my hands when we
were at the table waiting for my mom or dad to say ‘amen’ so we could eat. As I
got older, think 4th or 5th, grade, I started to honestly
listen to how “older” people around me prayed and I tried on my own to pray
like they did.
I knew that prayer was
an important part of being a faith Christian person. I knew that prayer was an
important part of my family’s life and the congregation that my dad served. I
knew what prayer was. But even in the midst of knowing what it was I didn't always know how to do it. I wanted to do it right. I wanted to do it the most fruitful
way possible. Growing up that meant doing it how others had told me. “You
always have to keep your hands folded and your eyes closed.” “You must only do
it in secret and in silence, or in Sunday school and worship.” So, if sitting
in the quiet with my hands folded behind my closed bedroom door or in Sunday
school and worship were the best ways for God to hear me…then that is how I
would pray. Over time however, I heard other voices join in this conversation
about prayer. They started saying things like “When I find a song that touches
my heart I sing it to God in my prayers.” Others said, “Sometimes the only time
I have to talk to God is when I am driving down the road after work.”
What the what? I don’t
have to sit in silence? I can pray in other ways? What the…this is life
changing stuff here people.
If I had started this
post with the question, “How do you talk to your best friend?” What would your answer have been? I don’t
know about you but I talk to my best friend in lots of different ways. We talk
on the phone(and I am usually doing my dishes), we text(almost every day), we
email, we send cards and notes and presents in the mail, when we are in the same
time zone we spend as much time together as possible. I talk to her when she isn't even around, I make lists (sometimes) of the things I need to tell her in
case there is a time lapse between phone calls.
Why then, I ask you, is
our way of talking to God any different? Should we talk to God any differently
than we do our best friend, the one person in the world we tell EVERYTHING too.
Soooooooooooooooo maybe
your prayer life has taken a small hiatus because you felt like you didn't have
time to sit in the quiet with your eyes closed and your hands folded behind
your closed bedroom door for 20-30 minutes every day.
It is Friday- thank
goodness and there is no better day than today to pick up the spiritual phone
and reconnect with God.
HOW are you going to
pray today? At least here in Iowa it is cold and dreary, might I suggest a cup
of hot chocolate, a fire (if you have a fireplace), a warm blanket, and a
notepad. Make a list of all things you have been meaning to tell God. Or if you
have too much to do around the house might I suggest praying for different
people, situations, etc. while cleaning a different area of your house. Or
maybe, when you’re driving home from work, turn off the radio and just START
TALKING!
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