by Robert H. Sculler
I grew up in the Midwest where I had never seen an avocado. Even though I went to college and finished three years of post-graduate work, I had never even heard of an avocado! Then I moved to California and all kinds of people gave our family what I thought were the biggest, most unusual pears I'd ever seen. I tried every way I could think of to eat them, but finally gave up and ended up throwing them away. Fortunately, someone discovered my ignorance and showed me how to eat an avocado - and enjoy it.
Many people tend to discard prayer in the same way I threw away those avocados. They talk to God and it doesn't seem to work. So, they just give up. But prayer is an adventure! And real prayer involves both listening to God as much as it does talking to him. God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Call to me and I will answer you..." (Jeremiah 33:3). That's two-way prayer. Let me describe how you can enjoy the experience of this kind of prayer:
Begin by relaxing, closing your eyes and blocking out the distractions of the eye and the world. Focus your mind on something that calms you. When you are relaxed, quietly wait until you feel the stillness of God's presence with you.
Then ask the Holy Spirit to control your thinking so that God's thoughts and ideas will come into your mind. In a humble, expectant attitude, begin to ask God questions about situations, challenges, and decisions you're facing. As you ask each question, pause and wait patiently for God to answer. When you finish, write down what you heard God say to you in the quiet.
There is mountain-moving power in two-way prayer. If you've never prayed in this way before, why not start the adventure of two-way prayer today?
