Then there are those times when I'll be in a group situation and someone prays (in my mind they often volunteer to do so) and by the time they end you are absolutely certain that they successfully made it through Theology 404 and then completed grad school, and then got into public speaking. Me, I call it Show Praying....they really put on a show.
I may be wrong, but if you are like me, the folks I hang out with are just everyday normal broken working stiffs. They have a lot on their plate just doing life, and they are not Christian zealots. This is not to say that their beliefs and faith are not strong. Far from it. I am only implying that they are just average joe's going down the long narrow dirt road of life just like most of us.
I was once told (and it's one of the things that stuck) that prayer is a conversation with God. And since I converse with my circle of friends in a very realistic and human way, I have chosen to converse with God (pray) in a similar method. He knows me like a book....and he knows how I talk every day. So, why should I sugar coat it and talk with Him in any different manner?
Here's a realistic prayer:
Not only is it realistic, but it is delightfully simplistic, and gut level honest. I have no problem at all praying in a similar fashion when I converse with God. Some might say those prayers aren't pretty, but it doesn't matter. I'm sure God "gets it" when I pray. He may even chuckle a bit once in a while.
Might you consider simplicity and reality in your prayer life? If you have always felt that you have to talk to God in some "special" manner, or one different from how you talk to anyone else, you may just be putting pressure on yourself that needn't be there. How freeing it is to just talk to God normally.
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