The Concept of Prayer

The concept of prayer is sometimes a difficult one for many people. It may seem like an easy task , just recite a Hail Mary or Our Father and call it a day. But I find myself in a cycle of just saying the same prayers every night, maybe throw in a special prayer for someone in need, but beyond that it stays pretty much the same. I didn’t like that I was getting stuck in this routine because the prayers started losing their meaning. It was just a task a knew I need to do. So as I thought about how to make my time in prayer more meaningful I thought to myself “What kind of conversation will I have with God when hopefully one day I meet him in heaven”? A strange idea to think about but I was imagining it and I was like hmm the only things he has heard from me lately have been the same prayers I say over and over again. Not to say that basic prayers are bad but I have been feeling like I need to give him more. More effort, more time, just more conversation in general. Because of this feeling, I’ve been working on changing my mindset to one in which I talk to God more like a friend. I can call , text or FaceTime my friends and talk for hours and hours. My friends and I talk about good news we get, bad news we get , our struggles, our success, you name it, we talk about it. If I can talk to my friends about anything, why should I be leaving the most loyal, loving, and forgiving friend,  Jesus Christ, out of it? I started changing the way in which I talk to God. Along with the prayers, I’ve been trying to talk to Him in different ways. I start by talking about what I’m struggling with and asking him for guidance or I simply thank him for what went well in my day. Since doing this I’ve seen and felt a large improvement in my relationship with God. It’s a funny concept , but it’s like I’m keeping Him in the loop of my life as I would a friend. And since doing this , I think of Him more and more throughout my days. Sometimes a change in the routine of your prayer can drastically change your  perspective and outlook on your relationship with Jesus Christ. Ever since I decided to keep Jesus more in the loop of my daily life, I feel confident that when hopefully one day we meet face to face , we can just continue right where we left off.