How to have a dialogue with GodSpirituality

Prayer is a conversation or dialogue with God and the art of prayer is knowing how to speak to and listen to God.

If communication is to deepen the relationship of faith, the matter of this conversation cannot be superficial small talk or even mind talk. It must involve a total sharing or encounter of persons.

To understand prayer as communication in an interpersonal relationship, it will be helpful for us to notice how human beings come to know and love each other through communication.

Love begins to grow when two people are willing to risk the real offering of self that can be achieved only in genuine self disclosure. This is the moment when we really put ourselves not the line, in telling another who we really are, where we ache, and where we reside.

Implied in this kind of communication is the obvious risk of rejection, but without the heart to take this risk there can be no real encounter. We give little or nothing of ourselves until we give ourselves in this way. Without it, the material and other gift we exchange mean nothing. Love demands dynamic presence, not presents.

We put something of ourselves into the hands of another when we confront his freedom of choice to accept us or to reject us. The Supreme risk, of course, is to tell another: “ I love you’’.

This usually implies a request of acceptance. Will you let me love you? Will you have me? This is what God had said to us, and it is hopefully what we will someday be able to say to God. How should we speak to God?

Don’t lie to God! >>