God as a Friend

A newcomer with no religious upbringing told me he didn’t know how to pray. He wondered if he needed to dress nice or go to church or be formal when he talked to God. He’d turned his will and his life over to the care of God. But he wasn’t sure how to communicate with this new presence in his life.

I told him no one knew positively how to speak to God but that along the years I’d heard a few things I found useful about how to pray.

Once I’d heard a prominent bishop speak on the subject. He said we needed to speak to God as if he were a close friend we’re hanging out with. He said we didn’t need to be formal; we didn’t need to use good grammar. He said if we believe God is all-powerful and omnipotent then we believe he knows our heart and mind. He knows what we need before we ask. In fact he sometimes provides it before we ask.

As to the time or place for prayer someone suggested we pray at any moment in any setting. We can ask God to help us with our jobs, to help us overcome our fears, to relieve someone’s suffering. And we can do this while we’re driving or walking or watching television. He said that God hears our prayers no matter the time or the place.

I suggested to the newcomer that in the morning he say a simple “help.” And that at night he should offer a simple “thank you.”