Let's talk about prayer.

Hi guys! I hope you're all doing alright and are staying safe. I realise that the last two years have been quite daunting and just weird.

Who would've thought that Covid-19 would happen or even go on for so long? We've had so many variants, lockdowns, restrictions, and changes that have impacted the way we live our lives and the decisions we've made.

It's had an impact on everyone and everything and I genuinely don't know how everyone is handling it. My hope is that you're all holding on, staying strong, hopeful, and joyful.

Funnily enough, the only way I've been able to stay so strong and unjarred is by holding unto God and the faith that I have in His purpose for me.

But, I'm not going to be talking about that today. Today, I want to talk about prayer.

Prayer is communication with God. It's talking to God and expressing yourself to Him, while also listening to Him.

You know how we've got this thing where people are trying to figure out how to make relationships work, and everyone knows communication is key? And people are starting to realise that communication is not just about talking and hearing the other person speak, but also understanding what is being said.

It's the same thing with God. It's the same thing with prayer. Prayer is about being open and honest with God. It's about sharing your thoughts, your heart, your desires, and even your anger and hurts with God.

Believe me when I say that prayer isn't as boring as the world or our mind makes it out to be. It's really beautiful. The most astonishing moment in prayer is when you hear God speak back to you. When you hear what God has to say and when you just dwell in His presence. There's genuinely nothing like it.

I always tell people who struggle with how to pray this. When I first started taking prayer seriously, I would start with "Yo! God! How are you doing today? It's your daughter Esther!" I knew that there was a generic way of starting a prayer. It was usually, "In Jesus name, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Heavenly father ....."

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with starting your prayer like that. But I needed to break it down. I needed to feel like God was closer to me than that. Saying "Yo" (with a respectful heart) to God helped me draw Him nearer to me. I was able to just speak to God and open up.

And guess what? That's where my true one-on-one relationship with God started. I mean it's possible for someone to be a Christian, have their prayers answered, etc, without them actually having a personal and intimate relationship with God.

You can be in a home, where your parents feed you, clothe you, etc, but they don't know you that well because you don't relate with your parents or open up to them. They wouldn't love you any less or remove the provision, but your relationship wouldn't be intimate and you wouldn't get to see the absolutely beautiful things about them.

But then you can be in that same home, and open up to your parents, chat with them regularly, gist with them, and have an intimate relationship with them. There's something so beautiful about seeing the heart of someone and the things that make them laugh. There's something beautiful about making an effort to make someone you care about smile and seeing them smile because of what you've done.

It's the same thing with God. There is something absolutely beautiful about hearing God speak. There is something so wondrous about knowing that He's smiling as you ramble to Him and just speak with Him. And there is something utterly beautiful about pouring your heart out to God and knowing that HE cares and that He has heard you.

I've experienced it guys and it's one of the reasons that I'll never wish to be anybody but myself. It's one of the reasons that I'll never change my life story. It's one of the reasons that I'll never ever say that God does not exist.

So if you're struggling to pray, break it down. Just say "Hi". Make it casual and build from there. Because the thing about being in a relationship with God is that the more you relate with Him, the more He will teach you how to reach Him better.

It's like you had God's email address before, then you started conversing with Him. Then He'll give you his landline number, the more you grow, the more your link to God grows, the better access and surety you have in Him.

I am so convinced guys, that all God wants from us is a relationship. It breaks my heart just thinking about the number of times that we turn our back on God. Or the number of times that we don't give Him any attention.

Imagine if you were in God's position and you were in a relationship, but your partner only ever came to you when he/she needed something, or they never really paid attention even when they were talking to you. Sometimes we talk to God so much, but we never stop to listen. We don't even give Him a chance to talk back.

I do this so often as well. I fail so many times in my communication with God, but I'm asking God to help me relate with Him better and to teach me to relate with Him, the way He wants me to relate with Him. You'll find that your worship to God becomes much more beautiful the more you know Him and talk to Him.

You'll find so many reasons to be grateful and your heart will change. You'll suddenly find that you're always full of gratitude and thanksgiving. This doesn't mean that it won't be difficult sometimes, but the treasure behind it is so so worth it.

So please, let's all talk to God and just open up and when we do that, also give God a chance to talk back. Stay silent in His presence and see what you hear or receive from Him.

As usual, I love you, and more importantly, God absolutely loves you.

Love,

Esther xoxo