The Journey Continues: Horizontal Prayer

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." - Matthew 6:6, ESV

I think that too often, Christians will see prayer as something they do, something the offer up, to God. They pray, envisioning a distant deity that may, or may not, hear them. They may feel, and sometimes they express, that their prayers are going up, but nothing's coming back. Their prayers are vertical.

If one seeks to be in a relationship with God, then prayer is something different: it's horizontal. Picture this - instead of praying vertically, thinking God is "up there", pray as if He is seated next to you, or near you, close enough that you can see Him. Pray conversationally, as if you're bouncing ideas off of Him, rather than just submitting petitions for this or that. Sometimes, the best conversations are when there's give and take - when you state your mind, or a thought, or a concern with someone, and in a loving relationship, that sharing is received quietly, wisely, with no immediate response offered. 

One of my prayer practices is to walk the room as I pray. I find that, for me, doing that encourages me to pray as if God was sitting on the loveseat, listening intently as I bring up my thanks, my thoughts, and my petitions. I direct my prayers AT Him there, not up to Him - I pray horizontally. Praying, then, becomes about building the relationship with God, rather than simply giving Him a list of needs. 

Try this, then, when you pray. Try to visualize that God is there, with you. Pray as if you're talking WITH Him, not TO Him. Allow your prayers to be conversational, bring up your needs, or the needs of others, and giving Him thanks for what He's done. 

Pray horizontally.

Soli Deo Gloria.