How Do You Pray?

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How Do You Pray?

by David Huff

Many people answer the question how do you pray like this: “I talk to God,” and that is exactly what we are called to do. How serious do you get with God? Do you talk to God as you would the person next to you, or do you talk to God as if you are hiding the ugliness that is inside of you? Exodus 33:11 says that Moses spoke with the Lord face to face and just as a man speaks to a friend. Let that sink in for a moment. Can we learn to speak with the Lord face to face? When we go into our prayer closets, do we pour our hearts out to the Lord, or do we check a box off the list—Okay, I prayed today?

When I was learning to pray, I thought you always had to bow down and get on your knees in a particular manner or fashion. I would hold back on the things I would say because I did not want to say anything offensive to the Lord. The truth is God already knows what is in our hearts. When we are spilling out all the thoughts that we have to Him, He will take those thoughts and work with them. God wants us to talk to Him as if He is our best friend, and He should be. If we are willing to spill out all the ugly details to our earthly best friend, why would we not spill out the details to the one who can help us the most—God alone? If we were to approach God and tell Him everything that is in our hearts, how much healing could we receive?

In Matthew 18:3-4, we are told to become like little children and to humble ourselves like a child. Why would God want us to be like a child? The answer is that children are honest. They will tell you anything and everything, and the faith that a child has is unquestionable. Yet that is how we are called to talk to God: with child-like faith, where we are willing to talk to God about every aspect and every fear inside of us. God wants to be that intimate with each of us. When we tell our friends, family, spouses, or whoever we are close to the hidden secret fears or things that are hurting us, we feel a relief come over us. Jesus says, “Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28). In these words, God is telling us to come to Him and to release everything that is on our minds or hearts. God loves it when we tell Him everything, and He wants us to be so comfortable talking to Him that we will tell Him everything.

About The Author My name is David Huff, and I am married to Brittany and together we have five wonderful kids. We attend Rock Bridge Community Church Calhoun where I serve on the prayer team and production team. I am also a senior at Liberty University.