Prayer helps us to be with god

Written by Eleanor Hansen

Prayer.  What comes to mind when you hear “prayer”?  What feelings fill your heart when someone asks you “how is your prayer life”? The word itself can bring peace, anxiety, comfort and shame all at once.  Why is that? Why does the concept of prayer strike such an emotional response in us?  There is no denying a deep and powerful pull to pray.  At every point in history, in every religion and peoples there is a form and fashion of prayer. A craving to petition to a force bigger and stronger then ourselves and connect with something significant.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

This scripture in Philippians touches a part of our being that has always needed to talk with our creator - anxiety.  It shows itself with the real stresses and dangers of life and our instinct is to cope, coddle, and control but that only makes it worse. God knows what we actually need: prayer.  Our soul craves to reach out to our creator and lay it before him.  Not always to fix it but because he can give us a peace we can not fully explain - the peace of a child in the arms of it’s parent.  If this is all that prayer was, it would be enough but prayer is so much more then just laying our requests and needs before our loving Father.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

As shared in Thessalonians 5, God commands us to fill our lives with prayer, prayers of all types and occasions.  Thinking back to the image of God walking with Adam in Eden, how were they talking? I doubt it was a business transaction or in lieu of a long email, it was back and forth - a conversation.  Adam telling his loving Father about his day, his fears, he triumphs.  God still desires this, he still wants to connect with you and hear from you just as a mother craves to hear about her child’s day at school.

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12 NIV

Returning to our first question: if prayer is so wonderful, why does prayer bring up so many emotions, and not always pleasant ones?  It is because praying is connecting to God, the creator, the savior, the Head Honcho and that comes with baggage.  Every relationship has it’s ups and downs, it’s disagreements and misunderstandings and our relationship with God is no different.  So where do we start? How do we get past the mundane pleasantries? Same as any other relationship - honesty and safety.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 NIV

As shown in Romans 12:1, we can give our full selves to God because of his incredible mercy. One step at a time - sharing it all and trusting his abundant love and grace allows us to communicate in honesty and safety. By giving our whole self to God “in view of God’s mercy” we can connect with him as our soul has always craved.

What about your life can you share with God?

What fears and joys can you tell him today?

Reading our Bible helps us to know God
Prayer helps us to connect with God
Fasting reminds us to be humble before God
Meditation slows us to hear God
The Church gives us a chance to experience God