Experience
Talking to God
Experience Talking to God
Communication is fundamental to every close relationship. It is in the back-and-forth that people connect with one another, and God wants to connect to us!
When we talk to God, we call that prayer. But where do we start?
1. Start by reading Scripture with the Holy Spirit:
The Bible serves as a great launch point when we recognize that the Holy Spirit is present to help us pray.
Pick a passage and turn to it in. A paper Bible may help you reduce distractions.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you talk to God. Be open to where He might lead you beyond its literal context. Read the passage 2-3 times to yourself and consider what it says about God, believers, people in general, or the world. Take note of what stands out to you.
ACTIVATE: Open your Bible to Psalm 103, Matthew 6:9-14, or any other passage. Read your passage twice slowly.
2. Use Silence to consider what you read:
Allow your heart and mind to consider what comes up from the passage — it may be a truth about God, something you knew but have forgotten, or something entirely new from the passage.
Spend time rereading any part of the passage that’s highlighted to you or with what you have in mind to pray for.
ACTIVATE: Consider what is highlighted to you. Sit with it until your mind focuses on it. It may be helpful to reread the passage.
3. Pray
Below you will find three ways to pray Scripture. Incorporate all three as you begin to open your mouth and talk to God.
THANK - Give Glory to God for something true about who He is or what He is doing. If it relates to a specific person or situation, give thanks for that. Sometimes we ask for things that are already true, so use thanks as a way to acknowledge them. For example, you may give thanks for any of God’s key attributes: He is good, just, powerful, near, joyful, and revealed in Jesus. Use “You” statements to pray in agreement with the truth.
DECLARE - While some truths may lead to thanks, others may need to be drawn upon during prayer. Although similar to prayers of thanks, declarations allow you to speak truth over yourself, others, or situations. For example, you can declare God’s power over a situation in need of healing, or God’s joy over your normal day at work. Use “I” statements to signify that in your prayer you are imparting the truth into the situation.
ASK - This is what we normally think of when we imagine prayer. Working from the truth that is coming to mind, take up a posture of dependence and ask God to intervene. This could be a need for you, someone else, or a situation in general. Imagine God’s truth fully embodied in a situation, and pray for that to be a reality. If you find yourself asking for only what you want, ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into what God wants. Then continue to ask accordingly.
ACTIVATE: Pray each of the three prayers based on what you sensed while reading your passage. You can jump between the different ways to pray as often as you like. Don’t feel in a hurry either — be slow and return to silence as often as you need to.