Be in someone's prayers and heart

The advice to pray “from your heart” or “with a spirit of love” is good; that is where you want to get. But how to get there? Just as it’s easier to talk to a good friend when they and their life has been on your mind recently, it’s easier to talk to God when God is on your mind. So the trick to praying without a guide is to first take the time to orient yourself towards God. Devotional books can do a good job of that, as can reading the Bible. You could listen to music, read poetry, or look at artwork that inspires you. After you’ve accessed your source of thoughts or inspiration, sit quietly for a few minutes.

Breathe deeply, let your heart rate slow. Remind yourself of why you want to talk to God, and say the reasons either out loud or in your head. (Such as, “God is goodness, God is love, God is peace. I am created and I am loved, an intentional child of God. With my Heavenly Father and Mother, I am safe.”) Then just began talking, again either silently or aloud. I would be surprised if the words didn’t pour out of you, since you took the time to remind yourself of your value and of God’s love - since you took the time to build that connection and trust.

If the occasional “thanks for, you know, those kinds of things” pops out, don’t sweat it. No one is grading or judging you. Blessings to you and your many conversations to come. or me prayer is a conversation. Sometimes with myself, sometimes with a “perfect listener”. Try to recall having an honest, serious conversation with a trusted friend about something really really important to you. Now bring that trusted friend to mind and “talk” about what is important to you right now. Forget the church language, the “Dear heavenly Father” bullshit. Just be natural. Having that conversation will bring to mind things that you care about, people who are close and dear to you.

Praying to God or even having any form of conversation/relationship with Him must stem from love. The only way you can open up and speak from your heart to anybody is when you both share that Love for each other. True love comes from the heart, it is patient, kind, not arrogant, not judging and provoking anger, rejoices with truth, etc etc. Also God Loves you truly, so when you come to God to speak from the heart, say how you really feel (He does not judge), be kind towards Him (some people go to God with anger, already blaming Him for so many things, already biased), be open, listen and give Him a chance to respond(because prayer is a conversation).

If you are not hearing from God, be patient, read his word-the bible (cos He speaks through his word), this also helps you differentiate between what God says and what other entities says. Doing this opens up a very loving, deep and personal relationship with God. And He takes it from there, showing, teaching, revealing, guiding you in all things that could every bother/challenge you. My small group of friends would spent time practicing praying over one another and I was struggling, feeling like I could not hear how God wanted to speak over the individual. What was happening was I would attempt to pray over people from an intellectual standpoint. My break through came when a leader spoke to me and I needed to pray from a loving heart, rather than from my own intelligence. When she spoke this to me I began to see how, in many cases, I was entering into prayer from God’s heart of love.

Prayer starts with love. It’s an essential key to our relationship with God. If you will allow yourself to love others as God loves them, you may have amazing prayer break through in your life. Ritual fills an innate need in the human psyche. It instills a sense of order and a sense of comfort. Religions both rely upon and promulgate the practice of rituals to keep the believers deeply involved. Reciting memorized liturgy, be they prayers or memorized responses to pastoral calls in the services (also a ritual), helps keep that sense of comfort and order in the believer, the penitent.

There is no specific rules to define your belief, but there are a myriad of rituals to express those beliefs. The belief is the connection you feel you have with your god. Rituals are tools of the religion to keep you involved in your faith. Don't confuse the two, especially when the confusion is causing you such consternation. God uses prayer to make us depend upon Him and receive His best for our lives. When we pray, He grants our request when it is within His plan, reveals the state of our hearts and grows us in faith. Cheers!