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For people of the Christian religion, prayer is a common word. There are prayers said in church, prayers said by other people, formal prayers that are memorized, and unspoken prayers. It is the avenue of communication between man and the transcendent. The problem is that often people see prayer as a series of ‘thees’ and ‘thous’. They do not understand that prayer is a means of communication. It is a message sent, a message is received, and then the process is reciprocated. It is an interactive process, and through prayer wisdom is gained, miracles achieved, and blessings bestowed. Learning to personalize your prayers can be powerful.
In the model of communication described in Dave Ellis’s manual, Becoming a Master Student, thoughts are put into words. Words are the code we use to express experiences. These words are then received by the person we talk to, and the receiver than decodes the message according to his/her own experiences. In human communication, this process can be convoluted and distorted as each person’s perspectives and biases get intertwined with the intended message.
In communicating with God, there are different issues to consider. The Christian God is considered to be all-knowing. From this perspective communication should be simple. And the messages sent to God through prayer are received with understanding of the sender’s experiences, desires, motivations, and concerns. That message transmission has clarity beyond human understanding. The information returned to the person praying is where the distortion occurs.
The person praying may have a very basic sense of prayer, “I pray for a pony. God hears that I want a pony, and sends a pony.” Surprisingly, sometimes this does happen. But more often we must consider the source that receives the message sent. This God has the power to see into our hearts. He knows the patterns of our life better than we do. This entity understands human nature and the capricious stance that people often take. When God hears a prayer, He responds with the essential needs of the person in mind.
Sometimes the answer is: “No!” Sometimes the answer is: “Wait.” Sometimes the answer is: “You will need to work through this on your own, and learn the lesson intended from this situation.” All of these are answers to prayers. They are decoded from an omniscient point of view and the response can be difficult for the mind of mankind to accept.
Understanding this process is important in developing a personal relationship with God. If a person understands the magnitude of the entity receiving their message it can be overwhelming. Perhaps this is why the system of repeating rote prayers is comforting. The idea that the creator of the universe would want to receive a message from a simple human is beyond our comprehension. The thought that our words would be welcomed by this God is difficult to believe.
The amazing truth is our personal feelings and thoughts are just what God is hoping to hear. Our personal struggles are what this Being craves. For this expression is our energy directed to Him. Presenting God with our diminutive problems is a form of worship. It reveals to God that we have faith in His ability to intervene in our lives. Asking God for help is a way of opening the door to His great power. This unveiling of our true selves is the relationship sought by the transcendent. Why else would God send His son to live this existence, if it weren’t to reach us, and create a line of communication? Through these truths we understand the process of communication and the intention of God to communicate with us directly. But how do we make this happen in our day to day lives.
The answer is simply allowing God to hear our thoughts. Whether we silently direct our thoughts to Him, or shout them in anger. He wants to hear what we have to say. It is too easy to repeat the same words over and over again. How much of ourselves do we find in those empty recitations? A personal prayer is one spoken by a mother who cannot deal with her infant’s cries and feels herself losing control. It might be worded as follows:
“God, I cannot deal with the demands anymore. I want to scream back at this child. My house is a mess, and I am exhausted, and no one is helping me, not even You. Why did you put me in this position and make it so intolerable? I feel alone, desperate, and betrayed. “
This prayer is not so different from the one expressed by the Psalmist in Psalm: 88. Would this woman receive an answer right away? Sometimes yes, and sometimes the process she needed to experience would be to live through those emotions, ask for help, and depend on her faith in this kind of desperation.
The personal prayer can be one of joy, and acknowledgment. It may be that a man realizes that although he does not have the riches of the world, he has his health, a good family, and a growing relationship with God to provide him fulfillment that would never be found in material possessions. This prayer might be answered with support and fellowship with other men who face the same epiphanies.
The personal prayer helps the individual tap into the power of faith. It is an understanding that the pony may never show up, but the desire has abated and has been replaced with an ardor for spiritual things instead. This communication process with God can be improved through reading the Bible and considering the characters described. These were simple humans too. They suffered the same problems that have plagued humankind throughout time. Their prayers exemplify the power of God to reach each person’s needs as they unfold.
Prayer can show the magnitude of God’s omnipotence and patience. If we can learn to listen to a message coded with the wisdom of the universe, we can develop our personal relationship with greatness. Getting personal with God begins with expressing our personality in our prayers. Talk with God about your most fundamental fears, desires, prejudices, goals, and questions. The answers may not be received as an audible voice, but rather in the gaining of understanding, and a fertile relationship with the creator of the universe.
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