The simple meaning of prayer is a climbing up of the heart into God. You are loved and adored, and He wants to have a relationship with you.
Prayer is a climbing up of the heart into God. -Martin Luther-
When I was younger, there was an older man who prayed a lot in our church services. I always felt very intimidated. He seemed to know just the right words and could express them eloquently. It seemed to me that He touched the throne of God with each prayer.
My plain prayers felt very inadequate compared to his. At this phase of my Christian walk I felt that God only heard those who knew the right words to say and could speak them well.
After awhile I found that this man prayed well, but his life did not match his prayers. He was caught doing some things in secret that were against the will of God. He left the church, and his family was torn apart.
I started to think about the Pharisees and how they prayed their pious prayers. They felt that since they diligently kept all the Jewish laws that God was pleased with them.
They felt superior to the common people of the day because of their strict obedience to the law. Yet Jesus rebuked them for their prideful attitudes and wrong hearts.
I started to realize that prayer is just talking to God the way you would talk to another person. He is not interested in your fancy words, but in the condition of your heart when you talk to Him.
God wants to start to use you where you are now, then grow and mature you into what He wants you to be.
He already knows your heart before you pray, so fancy words and dialogue are not important to Him.
What an awesome God He is. You can talk to Him personally. And even better, He desires a personal relationship with you.
In the presence of earthly royalty, there are certain rules of etiquette and speech that you must abide by. If not, you will offend the royalty and probably be thrown out of their presence.
It amazes me that we will go to such lengths for an earthly person. But we may not be concerned about the attitude with which we talk to our Heavenly Father.
If the condition of your heart is right, then your words will flow from it in a way that is pleasing to God.
The simple meaning of prayer is to have an intimate conversation with the God who created the universe. And He loves you so much that He wants to have a close and personal relationship with you.
You are loved and adored by the God who created you. Prayer is just talking to Him in your own personal way.
