I feel like we over complicate what the true meaning of prayer is. It’s a one on one conversation with the Father. It’s building that relationship. There is a scene in the movie The Shack where a man is talking to God and he asks God, “Why do I speak when you already know what I’m going to say?” The Father wants to hear your voice. He knows what you’re going to say but he wants to see you humble yourself and ask. Also, prayer is not always asking for something, it’s also a time to build that relationship and sometimes saying thank you for all that He has done. When I wake up I say, “Hi God. Thank you for giving me another day, thank you for giving me life, and thank you for forgiving my past and birthing my future.”
Now if you’re scared to pray and have never prayed before, you should probably start with, “Lord teach me how to pray.” Now that might seem easy but it’s so powerful because God says, “Ask and you shall receive.” That’s a big thing to receive. I remember one of the first times I prayed, I asked God, “God why did I lose my future in sports?” I never really heard an answer. I lost my scholarships, I lost all of my friends, and what I thought was going to be my future wasn’t. I suffered in my room for two years doing things I’m not proud of and throughout that time I never prayed. One Saturday night something told me I needed to go to church. So I went and that morning changed my life, and I remembered before I left, God answered my first prayer and he said, “I have something more for you.” Now I’m in ministry school and working on my credentialing to be a pastor.
Everyone’s prayer life is different so don’t be discouraged when your prayer life doesn’t look like your pastor’s or a friend’s. God wants his own relationship with you. To whoever is reading this, let me pray for you. “Dear God, I just pray right know that your future for this person is yours not theirs. God I believe you’re working through this person’s life. God, your son shed his blood for this person. Let this person take up their cross and walk with it everywhere they go. You’re the way, the truth and the life, Lord Father. God thank you, thank you, thank you, for saving this person and leading them towards your love. AMEN.“ I encourage you to pray to your Father. It can be short or long, but God just wants to hear your voice. Keep building that relationship.
- FCA First Year Student, Matt Turgeon
