Prayer

Prayer~ what images come to mind upon hearing or reading the word, “prayer”? No matter your religious beliefs or non-belief, I think most people form a visual of what prayer is to them. This is not a question of right or wrong or one singular way to pray or the type of prayer you practice or to whom in general. I will say that for me, I am a Christian and I pray to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I aspire to live and share my faith and its experiences with you, knowing that God’s hands and arms are big enough for all of us. When I think of prayer and the many ways of praying, I see knees bent with heads bowed and hands folded; I see hands raised and voices shouting; I see hands holding hands around a dinner table; I see tears of joy; I hear the voices of sadness and despair; I hear voices of praise and thanksgiving. All these describe us at our very best and at our very worst…what about the in-between times? I’ll be honest over the years I have found myself praying a lot in the 7th inning of my softball years; when family members and friends were suffering; after a great softball win and after the healing of a loved one. This all got me thinking about not just prayer, but why do we pray and do we pray enough? I began to research this and found myself in a place that I have been away from for far too long. You see I pray, often I think but it’s about what I’m praying about and why? God desires to be in connection with us; a relationship. He not only wants to hear our prayers of celebrations and of our grief, but He also wants to be in communication with us, hearing about the little things, our daily events that sometimes quite frankly are all too routine and quite possibly boring. I tell you this truth, He cares about the routine and the sometimes boring. I like to picture God with a smile when I mention His name. He doesn’t want to be invited and thanked for just the “good stuff,” He wants to be a part of everything! So recently, after talking about the Bible with friends of mine I realized after many decades of praying, I whisper when I pray. When I am alone in my home, I whisper? Curiously I ask myself why? I have spent some time asking myself and I came to an answer somewhat, I formed a habit and learned behavior in that I want to be respectful to God as I approach Him in prayer even though I believe He can hear my thoughts, know the longings of my heart and hears my every whispers…I think He would like to hear me “in conversation with” Him. Sometimes a whisper works, sometimes shouting a song will get the message across…this I know to be true…God wants to hear from us no matter the method, He loves us and hears our every spoken word or not. AMEN!
~Blessings and Peace~