“Four Inseparable Aspects of Prayer”

The First Aspect of  Prayer: Talking to God

The most common definition for prayer is “Talking to God.” However, talking to God is just one of four aspects of prayer. That is why I think it wise to use the following definition for prayer: “Communicating or exchanging information with God.” The Biblical way of starting our conversation with God is by expressing “Thanksgiving.”

 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4)

It is important that we do not treat God as a Santa Claus. We must express our love to Him in Worship and adoration. As we express thanksgiving to God there is no limit on what we can talk to Him about. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6

“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

This verse says, “In everything”; that means that we can talk to God about everything and everybody. Many of us go to people to talk about things that people can’t help us with. Many times they can’t even handle the information we are giving them. We would be so much better off,  if we talked to God about everything first: that person in your job that gets on your last nerves, that promotion that you desire; your jealousy, your insecurities, your intercession for others, your issues, your problems, etc, etc, etc. The Bible tells us in this verse that we ought to have an attitude of thanksgiving; “…with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.” My beloved, there is nothing you can say that God can’t handle!

In Psalms 55:2, 102:1 and 142:2 the Psalmists speak about pouring our complaints before the Lord. How many times have we complained to people about different things in life? Talk to God; He is able to listen to all that you have to say: The good, the bad, the ugly, your struggles, your sin; your needs and yes…your complaints.

For many, this is what prayer is all about! For many, this is as far as their prayer life goes. The problem is that they are missing three other vital aspects of prayer. After us doing all that talking there is so much more.

To be continued…