Accessible Prayer

1-29-2014

Uncomfortable.  Awkward.  Daunting. Creepy.  Serious.  Disjointed.  Regulated.  Intimidating.

All of these words describe feelings people associate with prayer.  Too often, prayer is a barrier to communion with the divine.

Let's begin with a different starting point.  Prayer should be an avenue, not a barrier to God. What if we thought of prayer as a simple conversation between us and God?  Now to be fair, we've all had conversations that were uncomfortable, awkward, daunting, creepy, serious, disjointed, regulated, or intimidating.  We may even have several of those today!!!  But we've also had conversations that were comfortable, meaningful, encouraging, easy, fun, joyous, free-flowing, and casual.

What would happen if we engaged God in conversation in the same manner as we engage colleagues at the office water cooler, neighbors in our driveway, friends at a party, or relatives on a long-distance call? Would an impromptu conversation create a deeper relationship with God? Would a five-minute chat give us that boost to get through a tough day?  Would God just simply hear something we needed to be heard?  Would we learn something new about ourselves?  Would God too?

This is not a blog post meant to discourage any of you who pray with hands clenched and eyes shut tight.  If that works for you, wonderful, keep doing it.  This is a blog post meant to remind everyone that God longs to hear from us, regardless of format. So go and find your format!


Two Quick Prayer Tools: 

For when you don't know what to say:
1) Tell God something you are thankful for
2) Tell God something that makes you feel anxious
3) Simply ask for help

Focused Prayer: 
Post-It Notes are great.  Write down one thing (something you are thankful for;  something you are anxious about; a friend in need;  or a community issue like homelessness or hunger) and place that note somewhere you'll see it each day (dashboard, alarm clock, medicine cabinet, etc).  Each time you see the note, verbalize your request to God, or just keep it in your thoughts.