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Prayer is simply talking and listening to God. The goal of prayer is not to pray; the goal of prayer is to know God. It is to be His friend. We speak to Him and He listens. He speaks to us and we listen. It is inviting God to be our friend and then, being a friend of God. While it is an honor to be a servant of God, it is even a greater privilege to be a friend of God. Many say they don't know what to say to God. God simply invites us to speak to Him as a close friend. God has many servants, but very few friends. Yes, Jesus said He no longer calls us servants, but now He calls us friends. It is one thing however, to be called a friend; it is another to be a friend. With friends there is nothing is too trivial or great to speak of. We can talk to God about anything and everything, even in the smallest detail. We can pray about the day and everything that might come our way. We can pray about future plans. We can talk to God about our dreams and hopes; our failures and hurts. We can speak of the beauty that is around us -- sunsets, flowers, love and joy, people, and especially children. Prayer is not a duty; it is a privilege. At first, prayer might seem strange, or difficult, but the more we pray, the easier it becomes. We can also listen to God. We can ask what makes Him happy or sad. We can ask Him what He is thinking about, or how we can help Him. Paul, in the Bible, said he counted all things as loss simply for the sake of knowing God. It is one thing to have the mind of Christ; it is another to have His heart. To know and hear God's heart is a prerequisite of truly following Jesus. The Bible calls Abraham a friend of God; David was called a "man after God's own heart". Moses spoke to God "face to face" as a man speaks to his friend. John was His best friend and leaned on His chest … we can too!! It is one thing to communicate face to face; it is another to communicate heart to heart! What a beautiful thing that we can pray anytime, and anywhere! It isn't necessary to be in a chapel or a church. We can pray while at work, or while caught in rush hour traffic. We can pray while taking a walk outside or while taking care of small children. Our life and it's activities shouldn't stop prayer and prayer doesn't need to stop life. It was said of St. Francis of Assisi, "He sought not so much to pray, as to make his whole life a prayer". When we pray, it is important that we ask God to daily to search our heart and see if we have hurt, or offended Him in any way. I ask God to show me any wrong or unclean action, word, or thought. I ask Him to give me pure motives, intents and desires. Some great Bible prayers are "Search me, O God, and know my heart; see if there is any offensive way in me" (Psalm 139:23,24), "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10), and "God, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). Since there are so many voices in this world that cry out for my attention, I ask God to help me listen only to His voice. I ask Him to give me ears that can clearly hear His voice. I ask Him to give me a heart that is tender and that can receive what He says. Then, I ask God to give me the grace, strength, courage and endurance to obey whatever He asks. I ask God to help me welcome everything from Him and reject everything from Satan. When we pray, we can also talk to God about the hurts, needs, and desires of other people. Each day, I ask for God to share His heart for others with me. I want Him to break my heart with the things that break His heart. I want to feel as He feels. I want to love as He loves! I truly believe that He cries in heaven for those in this world who are hurting, needy, or lost. I know that one day Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and that is awesome! But I feel that as He shares His heart with us, that we can wipe away the tears from His eyes and put a smile on His face today! Each day, I ask God to give me a heart and mind that is clear, pure, loving that is full of His concern for others. I ask Jesus to put His love in me so that I might reach out to others. I ask that He would help make me a clear witness for Jesus and that I would seek to share His love and message with others throughout the day. I need His help to truly care and reach out to others in real and practical ways. I want my love to be genuine! Not just good ideas, or theories, but lived out in my life on a consitent, daily basis. For the most part, I simply ask Jesus to help me allow Him to live His life through me. I think one of the best prayers we can pray is when we ask Him to show us how to pray. It is really important that we remember that our walk with God is not as much about what we do, as what He has already done, is doing, and wants to do in our life. Just remember, God is more interested in your heart than He is in your words.
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