Talking with God

Praying is difficult; talking to someone you don’t see nor hear.

Talking to someone you don’t see is doable. It can be good practice to say out loud what is bothering you, what frustrates you, what worries you or why you are sad. Or say what you are grateful for, what you enjoy, what goes well. It helps to imagine you are talking to someone, but for the psychological effect that does not have to be a deity.

As Christians we do not pray because of the psychological effect, we pray because we expect something from God. We expect an answer, a reaction. And here it gets a little problematic because how do you talk to someone you can’t hear. How do you know God can hear you and how can you hear God?

We know God is omnipotent and that nothing is impossible for Him, but we also know He doesn’t do everything we ask for. Things I myself think are a good plan or a reasonable request don’t happen, but things I don’t think are that important do happen.

For instance, I pray for people to get to know the Lord or for the healing of a seriously ill child, but I don’t see that happening, but once I prayed against a statue I didn’t like (long story) and the statue was blown over! Seriously, why?

I got the impression God showed me with this event that He does listen to what I ask and that He does something with it, but that I most of the time don’t see the results of it. The bottom line is me just trusting Him because I don’t always understand what is going on ‘behind the scenes’.

Where did that impression came from? Did it come from God?

Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t.

It matches the way I know about God, so I consider it an answer of God. If I pray for something and I don’t see it happening, I think about the statue as a sign God answers prayers.

Thoughts arising in my mind also is a way I ‘hear’ Gods voice. Other ways are just ‘knowing’ things or out of the blue realising something, a sudden mood swing or small ‘coincidences’. When I pray for problems or worries I have, I sometimes notice a change within myself. I come to peace with it, a kind of trust feeling, or I get restless, even angry sometimes and I want to do something about it. Sometimes I get an idea, or a solution comes to mind. Not everything always comes from God and I don’t always know the difference, but I don’t mind. It is about personal prayer and day to day communication, not about big choices or life changing decisions.

I learned to be observant to what I think and feel. You can compare it to when the children were little and they were playing somewhere in the house. Unconsciously you are permanently listening, because when something changes you react to it. You react to a loud bang or an unexpected silence by stopping what you are doing and listen carefully; “what do I hear? Should I do something?”

It also changed the way I look at my surroundings. It is like walking with a good friend who points out all kinds of details that you would otherwise have missed, so everything just gets a little bit more beautiful.

This way of communicating with God gives me freedom, relaxation and a nice intensification. I experience God as a natural part of my life, not as someone who waits until I finally will make some time for Him. In the midst of the most busiest life you can meet God everywhere this way. In the way the sun shines in the room, the taste of coffee, the enjoyment of a good conversation, the joy of a good business deal, but also in the wrestling to get your task done, the unjust missed promotion, or in the routine of the days. These meetings most of the time aren’t a conversation, it is more like a ‘look of understanding’. You smile to God because of something you enjoy as a sign you appreciate what He is giving you. And you know you are not alone when you are fed up with something, because He just always is there, with His arm around your shoulder.

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