I have been practicing centering prayer since June 1, 2014. I have noticed that my prayer life has changed as a result of this practice. My approach to God has changed. My relationship with God has changed. I have added a much needed depth to my prayer life. My prayer life was one dimensional. My prayer life was actually very selfish. My prayer life was very self-centered. I viewed prayer as me talking to God. I brought to God my wishes and desires for the current day. I brought to God my wishes and desires for my future. I brought to God my wishes and desires for family and friends. Sometimes I yelled at God.
I now think of prayer in four manners. Prayer is speaking to God. Prayer is listening to God. Prayer is being in communion with others. Prayer is resting in God. Today I will briefly talk about prayer as speaking to God.
Prayer is speaking to God. I believe God wants us to talk to Him. I use Him when I say God but I believe God is not a gender. We need to complain to God when we are not happy. We need to vent when we are frustrated. We need to tell God when we are scared. We need to ask God to heal us when our bodies are not healthy. We need to ask God to heal us when we are lonely. We need to bring our concerns to God for family members, friends, members of the community and world. I strongly believe that talking to God is what He wants. God wants to listen to us. God wants us to get these things off of our chest. It is healthy to do so. Repressed thoughts and concerns are unhealthy. They will cause both mental and physical health problems. God loves us too much and wants us to feel very comfortable in coming to Him and talking to Him.
However, a relationship requires more than just talking. It requires listening. If I had a friend that only talked to me and never took the time to listen to me, I would feel hurt. I too want to be listened to. A relationship involves speaking and then stopping to listen to the other. Listening is opening a space for another and letting them fill it. I will discuss prayer as listening to God in my next post.
What do you think?
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