prayer* 

"One of our biggest misconceptions about prayers is that it's difficult" John Tesh

Honest to goodness, one of the biggest mental hurdles in my Christian walk is praying. I do not like to pray in public. Neither do I like to participate in a marathon prayer mantra. Neither do I like to pray aloud.

I have many uncertainties about praying.

Is there a right way to pray? Is there a certain unspoken etiquette on prayer? Do you stand? Sit? Kneel down? Squat?
Or can I do all of the above?

Should I use bombastic words? Or tongue twisters, perhaps? Show off my broad vocabulary? Should I whisper? Should I be thunderously loud? Or should I be mid-tone? Can I not utter one word, but instead let my heart do all the talking? Can prayer be silent?

These are my feelings and thought about prayers.

1. Get to the point
I am basically your straight-to-the-point type of praying person. Hey, I believe that beside myself, God also has trillions billions of other desperate souls to listen to. I don't think His SOS signal ever stops blinking. Unlike Batman's. So stop beating around the bush and get to the point. The Bollywood prancing-around-coconut-trees-act-with-10-clothes-changes is not welcomed here. Save it for the next blockbuster.

2. It's not a public address.
It should be a personal conversation with God. Face to face. Heart to heart. All you have to do is talk. Tell Him how you feel. Tell Him your deepest secret. Tell Him your latest crush. Tell Him your fears. Your anger. Your frustrations. Your joy. Your stupid antics. Anything you can think of, God's just waiting to listen.

Yeah, He knows most of the things already, but what the heck - tell Him anyway. And after much talking, if you care to keep a sensitive ear and care to maybe shut up for a tad longer, sometimes God talks back. And that's an invaluable experience - yeah, to be able to converse with God. Powerful. Sometimes He can be quite sarcastic. With a mean streak of dark humor thrown in at times. I know I've had my share.

But He's always good. That's why He is God.

3. Anywhere is a good place to pray.
After all, God is supposed to be everywhere. So why limit the places for praying. Make sense? Darn right.

At work, my best prayer area has always been the corner toilet cubicle. I feel safe doing my prayers there, especially when the tension and emotions run high. The presence of his love, warmth and peace felt the strongest in that cubicle.

At home, I have a single leather sofa for Jesus, next to my bed. That's my main conversational area with Him. Very comforting.

4. Be careful what you pray for.
Sometimes He gives you more that what you ask for. So be vigilant.


So, when you have time on your hands, pray.

He always listens.

January 02, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 3:15 pm
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