Talking With God: Life Is Crazy, Prayer Is SimpleSample

"Everyone Else" Doesn't Know How to Pray

A few weeks back, I received an email from a friend asking if we could get together. I could tell he wanted to talk about something specific.

We checked our schedules, and miraculously we both found forty-five minutes to connect over coffee the next day.

I arrived a few minutes early. Twenty minutes later my friend arrived. He apologized for not being on time. His life is busy as he tries to be seventeen different places at once.

Now, as a pastor, I’ve heard it all. Nothing really surprises me anymore. As he updated me on the status of his life, I wondered if he was struggling with something more. I wasn’t sure where our conversation was going or what he wanted to say or ask. We small-talked for ten minutes or so, and then he finally said it:

“Well, I’ll just get to why I wanted to get together. I feel foolish for asking this, since I’m a grown adult. I grew up going to church, and this is something everyone else probably knows but me. But I just want to ask: How does a person pray?”

I was grateful my friend was so candid, and honored that he trusted me enough to ask his question. But, honestly, this wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question. Far from it.

“Everyone else”…they probably have prayer figured out.

And if no one else, the pastor does, right?

I can’t speak for others, but I know I don’t.

In one of his first sermons, Jesus tries to explain prayer:

“When you pray,” Jesus said, “don’t do it to be seen. Don’t do it to impress others, like hypocrites often do. They might sound impressive, but they actually have it all wrong. God isn’t impressed with how we pray or the things we say. In fact, he already knows what we need, even before we start.”

Instead, when you pray, just pray like this: “Our Father…”

I’ll go out on a limb and say that the majority of “everyone else” doesn’t have prayer figured out either.

The truth is, prayer is simple.

And what we may not know about prayer is the best part: God can’t wait to talk with me. With you.

Do you ever feel like you don’t know how to pray? Does this keep you from talking with God?