Opening Your Heart to God

If you think about it, prayer is a very unnatural activity. In fact, the whole concept of prayer flies in the face of the deep-seated value of self-reliance. Prayer is an assault on human autonomy, an indictment on a life whose aim is self-sufficiency. Prayer is an embarrassing nterruption to someone who is on the fast track, bound and determined to make it on their own.

Although prayer is alien to our independent tendencies, each of us has probably reached a point somewhere along the journey of life where we made a decision cry out to God. We might have looked both ways, blushed a bit, and finally fell to our knees, hoping no one else would wee, we fixed our attention on God, and actually prayed.

In the moment, we felt that a serious conversation with God might help out situation. We hoped an honest talk with Him might pay off somehow. And in that private conversation with God, we discovered that we were engaged in one of life’s greatest phenomena.

As we grow in prayer, we discover that God actually wants to be in relationship with us. He is not a reluctant listener, like an exhausted employee at a customer service counter saying, “Now what?� In prayer, God convinces us that He has been waiting for us all along. He will listen to us as long as we want to talk. We matter to Him, and He cares deeply about us. In times of prayer, God also assures us that His power is available to us. As we communicate with God, we hear Him say, “I can handle this situation, your needs, your hardships; I can
handle anything life throws your way.�

The phrase in Scripture that sums it up best for me is found in Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.�

Maybe, over the years, you have become a person who prays often and freely. Or you may be someone who has prayed in desperation over a few occasions, but for whom prayer is not always a regular occurrence. Perhaps you are in a relationship to prayer, this series of interactions will help you deepen your understanding of prayer, your commitment to prayer, and the practice of prayer in your daily life.

True is an act of worship in which Christians may bring their requests to god anywhere, anytime, anyplace.

Submitted by Evelyn Garber
Based in part on “Interactions�

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