Prayer: Conversations With the Living God

Do the prayers of your heart and the words on your lips flow like a calm and peaceful river before the Lord?  Or do they rush out in a torrent of jumbled thoughts, concerns and requests?  Perhaps they look like the waves smacking against the shoreline in a the midst of a violent storm.  Or rather would you paint a picture more of a little girl or boy sitting at the feet of a father in a field of wild flowers?  Now I will have to admit this last one makes me laugh a bit, because I'm not sure when or if my prayer time has ever looked like that.  It often looks more like good friends hiking along a path.  Steep upgrades, level straightaways, breathtaking views, arduous brush, steady pace and quickened feet; all part of the journey and conversation of life.

There isn't just one moment that can encapsulate my entire prayer life.  Just like the seasons of life, it too has gone through different changes, has taken different forms and has always been true to my heart.  We know from reading scripture that God has made us.  He knows our thoughts.  And knows both our strengths and weaknesses.  We also read that He wants us to be in communication with him.

I would urge you to turn your thoughts to Him.  Spend structured time in prayer too, but also be conscious of the fact that we have the Living God dwelling within us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  Our thoughts can be more than ramblings in our own minds, but rather deep conversations with God himself.

Don't let this idea freak you out.  I know.  Some of your thoughts are not so holy.  Some of your thoughts follow a stream of profanities.  Some of your thoughts are full of doubt and questions.  Some thoughts are so puzzling it makes your puzzeler sore.  I know because mine do too.  Remember that God has big shoulders.  He created the entire universe with his breath for crying out loud!  He can handle what is going on inside you!  Talk to him!  Let your words flow however they are going to flow that day.  A river cannot control the speed at which it flows.  Other determining factors play a key role in that, but a river continues to flow never the less onward towards the mouth of a larger body of water.  So we too surrender to Him who is in control, sovereign over us, Living God and faithful friend.

With love,