Have you ever wondered how to pray?

When I was a child, and even into early adulthood I must admit, I would have the best conversations with myself. It’s true ! If something weighed heavily on my mind, I would sort it out by carrying on a full dialogue as if I was speaking to someone else. Naturally, I held both sides of the conversation. More than once, I would work up such a good discourse, that I would carry on an argument with myself. Of course in the end, I would always win the argument.

When I first heard about the importance of prayer, I didn’t get it. What was the big deal about talking to God? I meant no disrespect, I just didn’t see the purpose of bothering Him with my thoughts, besides I thought I carried on a pretty good conversation by myself. It wasn’t until I came across Philippians 4:6-7, that I understood the difference between talking my problems out with myself verses talking them over with God. The scripture says, "Do not be anxious about anything but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus."

As helpful as I thought it was, in all my self-talk, I could never bring about a peace that would transcend all understanding. The best I could do, was minimize the many stresses I was feeling and end my conversations in a way that would work for me. I did this because in truth, I didn’t have the answers for most of my self-talk issues. In learning to talk to God about the things that weighed on my mind, I discovered, I didn’t have to minimize anything. I didn’t have to have all the answers because God did. And I certainly didn’t have to win all the arguments, which brought peace in it self. I merely had to talk things over with God and though He already knew what was going on, by talking things over with Him instead of myself, I was able to experience His presence and His peace.

People are often unsure of how to begin talking to God. Face it, it can be a little awkward if you’re not use to it. I have found that thinking of God as my very best friend helps to spark the conversation. One of the easiest ways to begin talking to God is when you wake up in the morning. As you are wiping the sleep from your eyes and your brain has barely begun to function, you can simply say out loud or in your private thoughts, "Good morning God." That’s it! You’ve just talked to God. You would be amazed at the peace that floods your soul, by simply saying good morning to God. When you’re driving to work consider rambling off your to-do list then simply ask, "What do You think God? There you have it! You just talked to God again. Believe me, He’ll find some way to let you know what He thinks. Getting comfortable talking to God about little things prepares you for when the big things come up. The big things that seem to have no answer or solution, such as failing health, troubled finances, marital problems and so on.

God doesn’t promise to give quick fix answers to your problems, but He does promise to give you a peace that transcends all understanding as you bring your concerns to Him in prayer and trust Him to work it out. So stop talking to yourself and start talking to God. Believe that He hears you, and begin experience His peace.