Prayer as Conversation
By Dr. David G. Benner
One of the problems with so-called “conversational prayer” is that our prayer is nothing more than a monologue. We do all the talking and never even consider that God might be doing more than listening. The problem with our understanding of prayer is that we don’t take it seriously enough. If we really believed that prayer was conversation we would not be nearly as rude as we often are. We would talk less and listen more.
The good news is that God is ever reaching out in self-revealing love and has no more ceased being Revelation than being Love. The prayer conversation always begins with God. It does not begin with us. Prayer is our response to a Divine invitation to encounter. The prayer conversation has already begun because God has already reached out, seeking our attention and response. Until we learn to attend to the God who is already present and communicating, our prayers will never be more than the product of our minds and wills. But prayer has the potential to be so much more. It can be the response of our spirit to God’s Spirit as we open the totality of our being to the God who resides in our deep center and longs to meet us there.
From: Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer
Pausing for Reflection:
§ How would your practice of prayer be different if you really believed that the prayer conversation starts with God? How could you better attend to the God who is already present and already communicating?
Prayer: Grant me the grace to know that you have no more ceased being Revelation than you have ceased being Love.
For more great resources and something to ponder on the spiritual life go to Dr. Benner’s website http://www.drdavidgbenner.ca/opening-to-god/ or Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DrDavidGBenner
