Trusting God with your heart
How can you let yourself be vulnerable with someone who isn't there?
I think that, if people are being honest, they struggle with prayer because God is not physically with them.
It feels like talking to yourself.
And when you are sharing something important in prayer, it can feel like you are opening yourself up to…nothing.
It’s just self-talk.
And I have been there.
In college, I stopped praying altogether because I got to a point where I felt exactly like this.
And it wasn’t until I realized that prayer was more for my community than for myself that I felt like it was real again.
And then, well, God decided to break me down in some very tangible ways.
By going through a grief class, I was able to trust my heart to God and be vulnerable to whatever God needed to do with my heart.
(for more on my thoughts on grief and prayer, check the post below)
When you can entrust your heart over to God, then God is able to shape and mold your heart through the work of the Spirit living in you.
And you can be vulnerable with someone who isn’t standing in the room with you because, if you remember what I have said about prayer as a form of community and communion, then you will know that by praying vulnerably with God you are engaging with your community of believers.
Because all prayer encourages, uplifts, supports, and strengthens the community of Christ.
You aren’t being vulnerable with nobody…you are opening yourself up to being vulnerable to all faithful followers of Jesus!
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for being willing to commune with us, to be in community with us, and being willing to take on our burdens. Spirit, break each one of us so we can be vulnerable with our hearts in prayer. Jesus, thank you for making it possible to be in such deep relationship with God. Amen.
Remember
If you find yourself stumbling over the idea of praying to no one, remember that you are praying in community with, for, and over all those who call themselves faithful follower of Jesus.