Talking and listening

Hi
I grew up saying the Lords prayer. I still say it today...

The Lord's Prayer (traditional words to the Our Father) Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

Read more at: The Lord's Prayer - Our Father Prayer (Traditional Words)

Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Hi again,

Here's another prayer...

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

God bless you...

Tellyontellyon said:

How do you talk to God/Jesus?
And how do you hear him?

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Talking is easy that is prayer which can be very informal like how you address another person you know like a relative etc. And the there is the formal kind of prayer like the Coptic agpeya.

Agpeya: Coptic Book of Hours (www.agpeya.org)


On the hearing part there are number of ways

1) Sitting in Silence or having a quiet time alone with God. We can gain peace or God's direction from our intuitions. Where we can be prompted on a certain matter. A Coptic priest I sometimes listen to describes it as the foam you get from a soda can when you shake it up. The more spiritual activities you do as far as prayer, Bible study etc. the more fizz you get. Well he said it better, but I like his analogy as far as describing something I have felt.




2) Our own present and past experience can also hold answers. This more in terms of God's direction for out lives. God can and does speak to us through our circumstances and through the mouths of other people.


3) Dreams. Dream can also be spiritual. Can is the operative word... Of late I have seen some Christian get too into them where they believe all dreams are spiritual.... which is very problematic if you ever study that subject as far as psychology goes.


4) Their are even more supernatural phenomenon that Christians report. As far as visions, angelic encounters etc. These are things I have mostly not experienced myself, but there have been a few times I have had a kind of encounter with God that would qualify, which reminds me to add fasting to the list.

He is listening, even when we feel far from him. I learned this about 13 years ago when I was standing on my porch observing a very strange cloud. I'd never seen one like it - it was very low-hanging and covered the entire sky like a blanket. I remember feeling so separated from God. When I turned to go back in, I just whispered to him "don't forget us". After a bit, I opened my Bible just to peruse it, and fell right to Isaiah 44:21-22

Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

This absolutely shocked me - not only the reference to being forgotten, but to a cloud. It did seem like the last part was irrelevant (return to me, for I have redeemed thee), but little did I know my fall was coming. So I also learned sometimes the Lord speaks to us about things that don't make sense in the present, but will in the future. I did return to him after backsliding

ACTS. He wants you to adore/praise him. He wants contrition or repentance when we pray. He wants us to be thankful for everything we are thankful for. And then he wants to here our supplications or requests. This is more formal. It can be work, ‘ and when you have labored’, trust that it will be so. Or you can pace around and tell him what’s on you mind, with all due respect. But I don’t always sometimes I get angry and distraught and tell it like it is and I am thankful for that and then apologize and let it go. God will hear you if He knows you and are not rebelling a long tirade against Him. Sorry if this does not seem too religious but he is my personal God and friend.

Tellyontellyon said:

How do you talk to God/Jesus?
And how do you hear him?

Click to expand...

it must be a tremendous feeling to hear from god. i'm not sure you can get a clear answer in terms of christianity...may you be an incredibly good student my friend...

Tellyontellyon said:

How do you talk to God/Jesus?

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Simply. Reverently. A child coming to their Father, Creator, and Lord. Absolute honesty, humility, and as best I can, gratitude. I don't use any formulaic prayers. I just talk.

And how do you hear him?

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I hear from God at unexpected times. Sometimes while praying; many times while I'm just going about my day. I always try to have a portion of my prayer time where I'm simply quiet. It's so crucial for us to learn to "be still". Prayer is not just babbling and filling the silence. It's a conversation. A communion. We should speak and we should listen. During those quiet moments, I just think about Him, who He is, all that He is.

I often 'hear' from Him while I'm reading my Bible. Many times when I'm listening to hymns or Christian music! If I'm listening to good preaching, something might 'smack me upside the head' from Him, which is always really cool lol.

Tellyontellyon said:

I've tried praying and listening, but I don't really get a sense of what God wants me to do. I'm not even sure if anyone is listening. Maybe there is something wrong.
How do you know what God wants?

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Read the Bible. Really dig into the Scripture, study it. Feel free to use a devotional to help you understand what you're reading on a deeper level. God is not separate from His Word! You can't know what God 'wants you to do' if you don't know God Himself, and you learn who He is from His Word

NerdGirl123 said:

Read the Bible. Really dig into the Scripture, study it. Feel free to use a devotional to help you understand what you're reading on a deeper level. God is not separate from His Word! You can't know what God 'wants you to do' if you don't know God Himself, and you learn who He is from His Word

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do you think it's possible more secrets for angles, well, secrets now...will show different angles to talk to god? do you get wealths of knowledge personally? well, of course not always wealths...how do you look for him?
the only way i ever found from knowledge of god was being a good student and at the same time a teacher of my own...i find making being all sides makes me rich with knowledge...am i being too philosophically greedy?...is this why i can't have as obvious as conversations with god as good as other christians?...without these teachings of yours i was able to outsmart in a competition of prayer sticky notes prayer skill sets with a well seasoned christian. i looked for how she talked and she gave up.

Drifter91 said:

do you think it's possible more secrets for angles, well, secrets now...will show different angles to talk to god? do you get wealths of knowledge personally? well, of course not always wealths...how do you look for him?
the only way i ever found from knowledge of god was being a good student and at the same time a teacher of my own...i find making being all sides makes me rich with knowledge...am i being too philosophically greedy?...is this why i can't have as obvious as conversations with god as good as other christians?...without these teachings of yours i was able to outsmart in a competition of prayer sticky notes prayer skill sets with a well seasoned christian. i looked for how she talked and she gave up.

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Remember that God opposes the proud. You aren't reading Scripture to memorize words on a page or talking points to use in showing off your "knowledge" around other people. A person can be very educated and knowledgeable about Scripture, history, and theology, and still have a lost, unsaved soul.