Do you ever feel like you’re talking to someone, but you can see they’re not fully present nor actively listening?
Being one of four daughters, I’m certain my mom and dad weren’t always able to actively listen to all of us at once. So many people would say to my dad, “you poor man”, when learning that he had 4 daughters. ( The sympathy my Dad received isn’t really relative to this story, but I decided to include it anyway just for the fun of it!)
Two of my sisters are so eloquent when they say a prayer aloud. When we have a group together and one or both of them are present, they’re always the person asked to say the prayer. I, on the other hand, consider my prayers to be rather basic, and feel a bit intimidated when asked if I’ll say a prayer at a group get together. I found comfort when I read a quote from American author and minister, Max Lucado: “Since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who speaks it, our prayers do make a difference.”
If we’ll remember that praying is simply talking to God like we would talk to a friend, then it’s not complicated to do – whether we’re talking out loud to others or talking quietly to ourselves.
God is always fully present and actively listening.