The Art of Prayer: A Two-Way Conversation

Sometimes prayer is not just about we are saying to God. Create a space where he can respond.

Truth He Told;

I honestly tried to write this without sounding too preachy. I’m not a theologian, nor Christian social media influencer. I just know God, and have experienced Him in ways that are sacred to me.

My Friday mornings are usually spent writing, reading or listening to old rap music — if nothing new was released to hold my attention, or keep me up until 12am in anticipation. If my morning is not only filled with just one of these habits, then definitely all three.

I’ve recently spent more time writing than I ever have, even before the pandemic. I’d wake up, make some tea and eat nothing at all, before getting lost in whatever pile of musings my mind lands. I give my thoughts to God and let him fill them with whatever he would have to say. What ends up on paper is typically the overflow of all He tells me.

Your own thoughts are one place you will forever live. In life or death, your mind is your dwelling. Something is always there for you to return to. Some philosophers would disagree though. Even if you do leave, you will be pulled back by the comfort of being there, like I always am.

Not having a job has been interesting, to say the least. If I’m not in class I’m usually at home, living inside of my head.

Make time to clean up your thoughts the same way you do your home.

I learned of, “contemplative prayer,” while in Chicago a few years back. Myself and the students I lived with actually practiced it pretty often, then it was given to us as something to take back home and embrace as our own observance.

The idea was almost like meditation, and quite honestly, I never practiced that regularly. Church folks associated meditation so much with Buddha; which, to them, was playing too closely with another religion. For this though, you sit in complete silence and actually withhold your prayers, verbally. Instead, you allow yourself to relish in the silence. The point is that oftentimes we are so invested in speaking during prayer that we leave little room for God to respond to what we are saying or asking.

I fear silence. I’ve said this before. It was silence that came before I was told Nae passed away. Silence sat in the garden with Jesus as he cried out. God’s silence in particular can invite fear and anxiety. I’ve had this fear since I was a child. No one ever knew, honestly. I usually needed to be around some kind of chaos.

Whether the TV, air conditioning or other noises of the ambience. I had to be surrounded by sound. I own four speakers and music usually greets me as early as 7am. Ironic because I’m that friend that doesn’t mind sitting in silence.

Stillness is beautiful though. It sits with both peace and death. Learning to be silent before God is easier said than done.

Sometimes though, silence is God speaking. Until He chooses to pierce the quietness with what He has to tell us. Silence can mean “no.” It can also mean “go” or “wait.”

When conversing with friends, it’s very rare that the space is filled with only our voices. There is a time for talking, and a time for listening. A time for thinking, and a time for engaging. These sentiments also apply with God. He is afforded the same space to speak as we are, if it is a two-way relationship.

Sometimes I think we should stop trying to talk over God.

I’ve recently learned that God is usually speaking. Always, actually. We just don’t fully give our ear to Him. It’s sometimes hard because there is such a long string of connections that exist and contribute to this exchange. His hand, His heart, His mouth, His ear. These elements are what we associate with the ways we experience God. These things are free to us, we just need to access them. If you reach for His hand, grab hold of it, after taking what is in it. If you visit His heart, rest in the comfort of it. If you ask for His words, be ready for what meets your ear. If you desire He lends His ear to you, say all you have to say.

Pray that prayer, one more time. Ask for that thing, one more time. Listen a little more. Read a little more. Meditate a little more. God’s words will meet you in these places.

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”