“My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.” (Psalm 27:8)
Talking with the LORD is prayer. So often we try to complicate what prayer is – or how prayer should be that we miss the simplicity of it. Talking with God. Our LORD wants us to come to Him. He wants us to talk to Him. He desires for us to tell Him what is weighing heavy on our hearts. He wants to hear us say what we are dreaming about and hoping for. He wants us to come and be in conversation with Him. Not superficially. Not to tick some box off of our to-do list. No, God wants us to come and be real before Him.
Why?
God designed us to be in relationship with Him. Have you ever tried to be in a relationship with someone who didn’t want to talk – didn’t want to share – what was going on inside them? It’s hard for intimacy to be produced in that way. It’s hard to really know someone who is so guarded or so distant.
God knows us. He wants us to know Him. To learn more about who He is. God wants us to fall more in love with Him. He wants us to become dependent upon Him. He wants us to see that love, trust, dependence, hope, peace, and joy come from a deeper relationship with Him. They come through our developing a better understanding of who He is and how much He loves us.
God sees our hearts and needs, so why do I need to pray? Sometimes I think we confuse who prayer is really meant to benefit. We think it benefits God. It gives Him an avenue for communication with us. While it is true that God communicates with His creation during times of prayer, God communicates with His creation in plenty of other ways as well. He speaks through His creation. He speaks through people. He speaks through circumstances. He speaks through the church. God speaks through His word – the Bible. God can communicate to us in a multitude of ways – and He does! However, we cannot communicate to Him with the same variety of choices. We really have one way to communicate with God, and friends, it is through prayer. Conversation.
Do you see why prayer is so important? It is our way to communicate with our Father, our Creator, our Savior.
What should I communicate with Him about? I don’t know what to say… Well, what do you talk about with others that you trust and love? What is going on in your heart? In your life? In your work place? In your family? In your relationships? In your community? There is nothing “off limits” in our communication with Him. God can handle anything we think and anything we bring to Him. He can handle our hopes and dreams, and he can handle our hurts and frustrations. He is not human. He is not easily offended. He is a loving, holy, and righteous Father who adores us.
We need to stop trying to complicate prayer, and start seeing the value of doing it. There is power in prayer. It joins us to our Father.
“Praise the LORD! For He has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.” (Psalm 28:6-7a)
God hears us when we pray. God desires for us to experience a depth in our relationship with Him that comes from intimate conversations with Him. God can be trusted.
Blessings!