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There are many different kinds of prayer. A silent prayer of thought only, a short prayer of thankfulness for a meal before we eat, a prayer for safety in our unsafe world. Silent prayers at night after retiring. There are prayers in many different modes.

Many pray only in desperation caused by an event in their life. Some prayers are what one could call “canned prayers” - prayers that with repetition become almost meaningless and simply ritual. Perhaps there is a time for this kind of ritual admiration, but personal prayer should be an intimate, honest, and loving conversation with God the Father, and Jesus Christ. Since He has loved us enough to die to save us, would He not appreciate an honest and unpretentious conversation with us one-on-one? The better we know Him, the more we will love Him.

David is a perfect example of this type of prayer. The Psalms are full of his prayers of desperation, petition, worship, thanksgiving. Some are simply conversations with God. These are prayers that do not fit a particular category. They are simply love letters, heart felt emotions emanating from many of his on feelings, impressions, fears, joys of everyday living close to his God. They are personal conversations with God.

Our prayer should be no different.

God will hear you just as attentively, just as patiently as any well known saint or prophet of eons gone by. If we would be intimate with Jesus Christ, we would do well to share all with Him everything - even your most intimate and personal thoughts. Hold nothing back (He knows it anyway, long before we share it with Him}. Our conversation (prayer) should be a sharing of every adoration, feelings, fear, joy, and praise that is sincere, open, and honest talk with God.

It is time when you can be completely open with your feelings - fears, anger, worries, and anything that you want to say. Anything you feel like saying…even anger all the way up to unrestrained words. Somehow we may think that He will love us less if we are open and even blunt with Him with our concerns and feelings. Another factor in prayer is very often neglected, or is feared for many reasons. Perhaps we feel that if I just pray silently, Jesus Christ will hear us better, or we fear our tone may offend.

When you pray privately in your “prayer closet”, SAY IT OUT LOUD, so you can hear your own voice and so you can sense you own feelings, and judge you own openness. You can say all you feel like saying; good or bad, anger or tears, questions and doubts. Express ALL that is on your mind and heart. He will listen without judging you, condemning you, or being angry with you. Hold nothing back that you want to say or how you really feel about anything or everything that is on your mind.

Remember, if you love God now, He knew you and loved you long before you were born. Loving conversation with Jesus Christ in openness and awe tends to cast out any of the wrong type of fear. Love for Him (He has already proven His love for us), expressed in the loving oneness of prayer will cast out all fear:

“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].” - 1 John 4:18.

We will spend eternity with Him. Why not get to know Him openly now as He knows us? There should be no fear now… because His perfect love casts out fear because we are even now one with Him.

“All [things that are] Mine are Yours, and all [things that are] Yours belong to Me; and I am glorified in (through) them. [They have done Me honor; in them My glory is achieved.] And [now] I am no more in the world, but these are [still] in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep in Your Name in the knowledge of Yourself] those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We [are one].” - John 17:10-11

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