Prayer

Last night we had our small group over. We have just started the subject of prayer. We are reading the book Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey. Although we're only three chapters in, so far, so good.

The concept of prayer, simply talking to God, seems simply enough when you think about that is all it really is, talking to God. We talk every day, sometimes too much, but what is it about this specific form of communication is so difficult for most of us? Seriously, I haven't found one Christian out there who has said "You know, I would say that one of my strengths is my prayer life. I wouldn't change a thing about how or when I pray."

We had some really good discussions last night about doubting God, fear of rejection, making yourself completely vulnerable and being your authentic self. I think conversation with other people is easier than with God because with other people we can hide behind or words. We may say one thing, but really mean something else. We can even lie to other people. But not with God. He knows when we're lying. We can't tell Him one thing and mean another because He knows our hearts better than we do. We can't fake it with Him.

I look forward to reading about and discussing more about prayer with our small group. Having a small group is just incredible. I love having a group of people I can open up to. We will all admit that we don't have prayer figure out. We fall short in our relationship with God in that area. Thankfully we are working together to improve. I will always have room for improvement.