And it tore, tore completely from top to bottom, with the force of one whose power was greater than that of the earth. The very fabric was broken in two and there was left an opening. An opening between one place and another, between isolation and safety, into a relationship with God.
It was the day that Jesus died. In the Temple of Jerusalem hung a curtain, between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, and only in the Most Holy Place could one experience the presence of God. When Jesus died on this cross, this curtain was torn in two, torn from above. In his death, Jesus brought us forgiveness in the eyes of God, and in the tearing of the curtain we were shown that we could have a personal relationship with God, that we could experience God’s presence in every moment of our lives.
And this relationship is not once of silence, God loves us and he cares for us, he wishes to help us. In the relationships we have, with friends and family, we do not remain silent, we talk to them, show thankfulness, bring our worries to them and show our love to them. And so with God, we don’t remain silent, we talk to him, we show him our love and our thankfulness.
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God that he may hear me.
Psalm 77.1
But what does it mean to call to God, to turn to God and realise his presence, his power and his love for us? What does in mean to pray to God and to know that he is listening?
In times of desperation we all need somebody to listen, somebody to care for us. Often we turn to people, to friends, family, professionals, and it is good to share our struggles, especially when we need to seek help. But what happens when we can’t rely on people alone – people are distracted, they may not understand, they may not always be there. This is where our relationship with God is different to our relationship with others. God doesn’t experience time like we do, he does not get distracted, he always understands, and he will always be there to listen.
Many without any faith have probably pleaded to an unknown source in times of need, their thoughts calling without the certainty of someone listening.
In prayer we can place our trust in a God who listens. In human relationships we expect to speak with words and to be spoken to in the same way. But a relationship with God is different. Many people have different experiences in their relationship with God, but God speaks to us clearly in His word, the Bible, and he often speaks to us in other ways too, shaping his blessings into the very fabric of our lives.
I was brought to question and explore prayer and my prayer life when my church held a ‘Week of Prayer’. On the second day I was given a clear challenge. I met with a few friends to and together we went to a larger prayer meeting at our pastor’s flat. When we arrived, everyone was really welcoming, happy to see that we had all come to pray with them. We weren’t required to speak aloud, the fact that we were there, praying alongside each other was the most important thing. And yet, as every other person prayed aloud I began to dwell on my own feelings of fear.
I was scared to pray aloud out of fear that I would forget my words or confuse what I had to say. Everyone prayed with such encouragement, showing thankfulness, confession and need. Everyone prayed with a focus upon whom they were praying
to, with a focus on God. And I knew that it didn’t matter what others thought of my words, it didn’t matter if I completely messed up what I was trying to say, God knew what I needed. And yet still I was scared. I had spoke happily before with a group of three friends, and yet in a larger group I faced the obstacle of my anxieties. I faced a challenge that I wished to overcome. I did not want to remain silent, to be distracted from prayer by the fear of what others would think of me. The most important thing was to pray openly and with focus, to God, feeling the joy that others were praying with me.
And so the next morning, at our Christian Union prayer breakfast I knew that this challenge was one that I could work on, and that God have given me the chance to overcome the obstacles that I had placed in my own path. As we prayed in pairs, I found myself with praying with a good friend. I knew that my inadequate speaking and forgetfulness would not bother her, and so I was given the first step on a ladder to being more confident in prayer. I knew that I must be focused on what is most important, that God was listening and that God knows what I need to say.
And this became a part of every day during the week of prayer, my friend and I would set aside time to read through the and prayer requests that our church had given us, and I became ever more confident of my ability to pray aloud and evermore aware that the most important thing was a focus upon God.
Our Wednesday night Prayer Meeting became a great opportunity for me. Four areas had been developed around the room to allow our focus on the needs and blessings of our local area: ‘Bankside’, our city: ‘Londonwide’, the country: ‘Nationwide’ and our world: ‘Worldwide’. We pinpointed our prayers and requests on maps, reaching out to the whole world and drawing connections across nations. We moved with freedom from one area to another, giving our thoughts, praying to God with those who sat by us, bringing our needs, our requests and our thankfulness to the one with a greater power than ourselves. I felt comfortable, at peace, I truly felt our church to be a family in that moment and I knew that I could pray aloud. I knew that God was listening.
And as I began to understand prayer more clearly, not only my ability to pray aloud progressed, but my personal prayer became enriched, I became ever more aware of how wonderful a relationship with God truly is. As with any person we talk to, when we pray we are speaking to God, we are in conversation. If you’ve never prayed to God before, why don’t you try speaking to him? You might be surprised to discover that he answers, even if not in the way you might expect.
‘Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you’.
Mathew 7.7
The Lilies of the Field 