When we read about the lives of the saints and other exemplary Christians, we realise that they were the extraordinary people they were because of their deep friendship with Jesus. They frequently spent quality time with Jesus. They stayed close to Jesus throughout the day.
They weren't in this relationship just for what they could get out of it. They had a two way genuine friendship with Jesus. Their prayer lives included both talking and listening. They talked to God about what was on their heart and they listened to what was on God's heart.
There are lots of ways of praying and you might say there are different depths of prayer. Some of the most familiar forms of prayer are praying set words, singing songs to God, thanking God, praying for others (intercession) and praying for ourselves (petition).
There are deeper ways of praying too. There is listening prayer where you sit in silence listening to what God might be saying to you. There is meditation where you meditate on something about God or meditate on a Bible passage. There is also 'conversational' prayer where you talk to God with your own words about what's on your mind and heart. These kinds of ways of praying are sometimes referred to by classic spiritual writers as "mental prayer".
St Teresa of Avila, known for her very deep prayer life, once said:
Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends. It means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.
Spiritual writers over the ages have stressed how important this kind of prayer is. It's one of the best ways to grow in our relationship with God. It will improve and deepen our other ways of praying and it will have a massive impact on how we live our lives.
Sometimes we can be so focussed on Bible study or praise or praying for people or asking for help that we forget this more heart-to-heart conversation way of praying.
How about having a go today at spending about 15mins in heart-to-heart conversation prayer? Forget about ways you've heard others praying or ways you feel you should be praying. Just talk to God about what happens to be on your mind and heart today. Then give some space for some silence to listen to what God might be saying to you. Conversation and friendship are both two-way after all.
How does it feel to talk to God directly about the things most on your mind and heart?
What happened for you in the 'sitting in silence' or 'listening' part of the conversation?