Honest Prayer

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons Christians struggle with our prayer lives is that we somehow believe that we cannot tell God what is really on our mind. It's as if we are protecting Him from our immaturity and our sin. Do we really believe that He "can't handle the trut"? So we pray prayers that are often superficial or empty, and we don't experience the fellowship with God that He intends. And then we convince ourselves that He's just not relevant.

Of course, to think that God doesn't know the truth, or that He "can't handle" it, is absurd. He knows our weakness better than we--after all He gave His Son because of it. But we, like Adam, believe that we can hide from Him in the garden.

Perhaps we aren't really protecting Him, but seeking to protect ourselves. The more we speak honestly with the Lord, the more we are forced to be honest with ourselves. The more we confront our true thoughts, the more we allow His piercing stare to search our own hearts. And the more we accept His intrusion into our inner lives, the more we allow Him to transform us.