Okay, now bow your head and close your eyes.....

So now we know that when we pray, God answers. But exactly what is prayer? Today, we learn about Talking to God.
Prayer is nothing more than having a conversation with God. That’s it. Not so scary after all, is it? Still, there are a few things that God would like me to clear up with you about the subject.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PRAYER!!! (woot)

Misconception 1: God doesn’t have time to hear about the little things in my life.

I’ll tell you straight up that’s not true. How many of you know how many hairs you have on your head? How many of you actually care? Not like it stays consistent anyway, as we are always growing and losing more (Some of the older crowd perhaps losing more than you are growing). It says in Luke 12:7, “Even the hairs on your head are counted.” If God cares enough to know how many hairs you have on a daily basis, do you think that maybe he cares to hear about how your day went? What boy/girl troubles you are having? How much you absolutely ADORE chocolate cake? God simply loves to have communication with you, even about the little stuff. Which leads to our next misconception…

Misconception B: You have to use big, impressive words for your prayers to count.

WRONGO!! Many people feel uncomfortable praying because they feel like their prayers have to sound like… “Oh Holiest Father, we thank Thee for this day Thou hast made in Thy power and might. I humbly come in penitence before Thy exalted throne and gratefully expound upon the grace Thou hast administered upon Thy servant and his transgressions…” Dude, I just WROTE that prayer and I hardly know what it means! Please note, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this prayer. If you are comfortable with that sort of lingo and that is how you commune with God, that’s fine!! However, it is also fine to pray like this. “Hey Daddy! What’s up? Thanks for the awesome day you gave me. The warm sun was great for our time at the beach! I love the beach, it is one of the best places in the world! I’m sorry that I said that mean thing to Josh, I really shouldn’t have… will you forgive me? Thanks. I’ll go make it right with him tomorrow when I see him.” That I understood a little bit better, personally. There are some times when I can’t even manage that. Sometimes I can’t get anything more than “Help!” And you know, that’s alright. He hears me anyway. As I said before, God just loves talking to you and spending time with you. You don’t have to be all professional and fancy. He knows what you are thinking anyway, so flowery words aren’t going to hide the condition of your heart. Just talk to Him! You’ll be glad you did.

Misconception π: I know what I need better than God does.

“What?” You might be thinking. “No I don’t! Who would think that?” You don’t? Really? I know I can fall into this trap sometimes. Here is what I am talking about. Let’s say you pray for something. You pray, and you pray, and you pray, and you have faith that God is really going to answer this prayer with a yes (because He always answers, remember)… and then things don’t happen the way we want them too. Maybe a friend doesn’t come to Christ. Perhaps someone close to you passes away. Maybe your dad loses his job. What do we do? We get mad at God. “How could You let this happen? How could You do this to me? I don’t think You are even paying any attention, because if You were You would EASILY have seen how this situation was supposed to go down!” I’ve been there, and most likely you have too. The thing we have to remember is that we can only see a tiny part of the picture. Our limited view and understanding of the world is infinitely smaller than what God sees and knows. Sometimes it seems like God has no idea what He is doing, and that we could handle things better. We can’t though. God has a reason for what He does. Do we always see it right away? No. Will we ever see it? Sometimes, but not always. It’s a trust thing. I’m not saying that it doesn’t hurt… when stuff like that happens, it is a hard blow, and that's fine. We just need to remember that God is in control. A verse that I have always found exceedingly comforting is Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God’s looking out for you, so just put your faith in that promise and hold tight to Him.

I’ve talked a lot about what NOT to do. I’m sure you are wondering, “Well then, what do you do?” The disciples asked Jesus that same question. This is how He answered them in Matthew 6:9-13.

"This is how you should pray.
" 'Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored.
May your kingdom come.
May what you want to happen be done
on earth as it is done in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.
Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.
Save us from the evil one.'

In Hannah terms, this is what this is saying.

Hey Dad! You rock, You know that? I can’t wait until You come back for me so that I can be with You! Until then, let happen what you want to happen around here, since You obviously know best. Keep food on the table for me and my family. Forgive me for what I have done wrong, and help me to forgive others when they hurt me. Oh, and when that old Devil comes around, help keep me from falling into his traps, would You? Thanks! I love You!

It’s not hard. It’s a natural thing. It’s talking to your best friend who loves you more than anyone else ever could. So, now you know. Give it a shot!

Naturally there are more ideas on prayer than I have space for here. If you have any questions, send me a message or comment or something, and we will get it answered for you. I love you all!! xoxo