Talking To God

Last night, I heard of an experience of someone who talked (or talks?) to God. Now, talking to God may sound strange (it did to me at first), but when you think about it, that's exactly what praying is. When we pray, we are literally talking to God. Sure, there are a few formalities, like addressing Heavenly Father at the beginning of the prayer, closing in the name of Jesus Christ, and using Biblical pronouns (Thee, Thou, Thy, Thine), and of course, it's more respectful to pray while kneeling or standing than while in a more relaxed position, like laying down. But to be honest, I think that most of the time, God's just glad that we're talking to Him and He's not too offended if we don't pray "properly." What's more important is what's in our hearts. I think that if we open our hearts to God and share our inner-most feelings with Him, it won't matter so much to Him which pronouns we're using or if we forgot to address Him first.

One thing we'd do well to remember is that God isn't only our God - He's also our Father and our Friend. Sometimes, we just need someone to talk to, and He'll always be there for us, whether we're kneeling, standing, sitting, or lying down. His love for us allows Him to look past those formalities and just listen to what we say.

The person I mentioned was told by her religious leader that we should only pray properly, using all those formalities (or whichever formalities her specific religion teaches). I'd like to rephrase that advice. It's better to pray with those formalities than without them, but I'm sure that God will listen whether we use those formalities or not. As far as I care, she can go on talking to God in whatever we she feels most comfortable. Personally, I think that most of the time, God's just glad that we're talking with Him, no matter how we phrase what we say.