What’s Up, God?
Does talking to God sometimes feel like talking to an imaginary friend? To many, God is that invisible Being who faded away as we grew up, like Riley’s imaginary friend Bing Bong in the film Inside Out. But what if God is more than just a mind trick? What if God is actually a Being of myriad feelings and means of communication who would like nothing more than to know you?
That’s how I see God, or try to. There are still some days when talking to God seems almost silly, or even exhausting—like climbing Mount Everest with five rations of water in tow. After years of studying the Divine Principle, learning about “God languages” and simply just praying, I’ve come to realize more of who God is as my Heavenly Parent, and how I can not only feel closer to Him, but understand Him and prioritize my relationship with Him.
Have you ever tried to know God better through prayer? Prayer is not exactly a novelty when it comes to spiritual life but for most of us, prayer is tough—and that’s an understatement. Most of us are like that child, starting to doubt our beloved invisible friend’s existence, struggling to believe in his love, guidance and friendship, letting him fade away altogether.
What if we could revive this age-old spiritual practice and make it a truly personal and natural experience for us? What if talking to God could be as natural as breathing? If we’re anything like that overburdened hiker, struggling and huffing away up Everest, then maybe we need to find ways to help our spiritual lungs adapt to the lighter air at the summit, where we can finally recognize God’s presence in our everyday lives.
The Day-End Report
In the Unificationist tradition, prayer is expressed as a report to God about our feelings and daily goings-on, just as we would report about our days to our ever-curious parents. The only difference is that, in prayer, it’s our Heavenly Parent who is asking us, “How was your day? How are you really doing?”
Prayer is our answer to God’s questions and gives us an opportunity to be honest and open with Him, even when honesty and openness means apologizing for the things we did and didn’t do. By asking for forgiveness, we can be empowered to make a determination to do better the next day.
Prayer also gives us an opportunity to consider what we’re grateful for in our day or in our life. What parent doesn’t like to hear their children express genuine thanks for something? Gratitude not only has many scientifically proven benefits—without it we often lose perspective and can get stuck in worry and self-pity.
A Primer on Prayer
It’s not always easy to pray, let alone to feel that God is our parent, but it can be much simpler to spark a conversation with Him than we think.
If you’re having trouble with prayer, you can steal mine for a bit until you get the hang of it. Here is an example of my daily prayer (you can used the italicized phrases to help you structure your own).
“Hi, God. Today I met a friend by coincidence on the train. I felt like it was meant to be, like You were guiding me! Were You? You must have known that I actually wanted to see her yesterday; how cool! We caught up and I gave her some tips on gifts for men. That reminds me: I’m struggling to find a birthday present for my husband—can You help me?
“I’m sorry I cut off some people on the roads today—I knew they were upset because it was annoying and dangerous. Also I’m sorry I didn’t write that email to my father-in-law when I had the chance—I really do want to be more communicative with my husband’s family. Please forgive me for not being thoughtful enough of my surroundings—on the road and in my extended family. I know deep down You’ve made me to be much more conscientious, and I want to be bold enough to let that caring side show more readily.
“I am determined to do better next time. I’m so grateful for that chance meeting on the train with my friend, the blue sky, my safety, that I have so many loved ones in my life, the realization that I am a good person, the opportunity to be an even better person and daughter-in-law.”
As a forewarning, no matter how strong my spiritual life is, I've found it takes some effort to break through the initial fog when talking to God. But if God is our Parent, I trust that He is right there, wanting to know everything about me, even the super mundane stuff! So I just let the words flow. Father Moon summarized it best:
“It's not necessary to make your prayer ‘better.’ Just say you are hurting when you feel pain. Say you are happy when you feel happy. That is the best prayer.”