What do you think of when you hear the word prayer? Do you think of prayer as something you do at church? Do you think of prayer as something only Christians can do? Perhaps, you may think of prayer as a “have to do.”

Prayer for me is an ongoing conversation.

Prayer is the foundation for my relationship with God.

Without prayer, I would not have a secure, genuine relationship with Jesus.

I was a leader at a youth retreat one time and in the small group that I was leading was a couple of middle schoolers. They started to ask me questions about prayer and one girl admitted that she didn’t know how to pray. I was a bit astonished at the statement because I knew that she had been raised in church her whole life. How did she not know how to pray? I was quick to give grace though, because I too, at one point did not know how to pray.

Maybe you don’t know how to pray but are too embarrassed to admit it. I think we feel guilty for not knowing how to do something that is preached about all the time in church. Everyone speaks of prayer, but how many people are actually showing the fruit of prayer?

Praying has drastically changed my life. Praying has given me boldness and confidence. Whenever I have insecure moments or I feel less than who God says I am, I pray. It works every single time. No matter how bad the situation before me looks, I always swallow my pride and pray. You may be thinking that you want that kind of prayer life.

You crave a relationship with Jesus where you pray and you feel like He hears you. I do not say all of this with confidence in who I am, but I say this with confidence in who my Jesus is, was, and forever will be. I have enough faith that when I pray God will answer me. He may not answer with what I want to hear at the moment, but he will always answer. Don’t you want that?

So, how do you pray? For me, it is real simple: I break down my walls and I talk with God daily.

Imagine having a relationship with someone, but you never speak to them? How do you get to know someone without speaking to them? It sounds impossible, right? Sadly, that’s how we treat God sometimes. We want a better relationship with Jesus, but instead of talking to Jesus first, we talk to anyone and everyone about Jesus.

Yes, God can hear your thoughts and He knows your heart, but you need to audibly speak.

There is power in your words.

When I was younger and I was trying to figure out how to pray, I would do certain things that I thought were needed in order to have a perfect praying life. I would kneel on my knees by my bed, hands folded, and eyes closed. I would then mimic a prayer I heard someone else do. I am not saying that these things are incorrect, but the problem with this picture is that it wasn't me. I was not being myself with God. I was trying to be who I thought He wanted me to be. And because I was pretending, I really did not connect with God. We don’t like when someone is not real with us, so why are we not real with God? He created you with a unique personality.

He loves YOU and just wants YOU to be YOU. Don’t be afraid to be your raw, honest self.

I am going to tell you to do what I told my middle schoolers to do that day. I had them all get out a piece of paper. I told them to write everything that they have ever wanted to tell God. I told them to write what made them sad, happy, and mad. I told them not to be afraid about expressing there emotions. I told them to tell God what they struggle with daily.

Tell God how difficult life can be.

Talk to God about that person you don’t like and talk to God about the people you do like.

Whatever it is, just tell Him.

Tell Him your dreams and your passions in life. I watched as they started writing and the words kept coming. I could tell that they had probably bottled up a lot of these emotions. We should have freedom in sharing everything with God, yet we are afraid of to tell Him things that He already knows. I watched as chains were broken and they began to heal.

God cares about all of your hurt, pain, and mess ups. He cares about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Tell him what is in your heart.

If I could give you one piece of advice about prayer, it is to take off the mask when you pray. Prayer should be, and is, a safe place. Prayer is just simply a way to connect with the Creator of the Universe. That leaves me in awe when I think about that. If you were to pick out any area of my life and ask me how I got there, my response will always be prayer. If you feel like something is missing from your life, then it’s most likely an authentic relationship with God. And how do you develop any relationship? You learn to communicate. So start speaking.