“…But the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

I remember as a child clasping my hands together in prayer and asking my mom, “What do people with one arm do to pray? They can’t put hands together. Do their prayers count too?” My mom gently replied, “Baby boy, you don’t pray with your hands, you pray with your heart.”

Prayers come through all kinds of voices, but what God hears is the heart. Your prayers should be communication with someone you have a relationship with. The closer you are to someone, the better the communication gets.

My wife and I can exchange glances or gestures to one another and we get what the other is saying immediately because we have a deep and loving relationship. It’s even nice to speak to some of my good friends from way back. I have a certain love for them because of what we all went through, good and bad. They get my horrible jokes and understand references that I bring up because we are on the same wavelength.

Just because you speak the same language as someone doesn’t mean that you are speaking on the same level as someone. A deeper and more experienced relationship with someone heightens your communications with them.

Intimacy changes communication. The closer you are together in life’s journey, the better you are at speaking and especially listening to someone. Communication is a two way street. It needs to be open and free-flowing.

In short, don’t put anything between you and God. The Bible in Matthew 5 says that if you come to the altar and remember you have something against your brother, go and reconcile, then come back to the altar to offer your gift. You must break down whatever barriers you can to make your communication with God flow.

It can be compared to your cell phone in some sense. You have trouble getting a signal if you are inside of a building or tunnel. It’s not that you have no communication device, the problem is that there’s too much stuff between you and the tower. The tower isn’t broken, you just aren’t getting what the tower has to give. There’s no power and no information exchange.

God is always with you and He always hears you, but depending on what is on your heart and mind, you may not be hearing God or even asking the right questions. The Bible says that whatever you ask in the name of Jesus, you will receive. That doesn’t just mean speaking His name in your prayers, it means being one with Him. You approach God in the name of His Son Jesus and on His behalf. You know God’s will for your life because you are as close to Jesus as you can be. He hears you and you also hear Him and obey.

Don’t worry about using special prayers or languages to try to connect deeper with Him, connect with Jesus in your heart. God is love and love has a special language all its own. Jesus hears you if you use solemn biblical words or your normal speaking voice. He hears you yell and scream for Him or even if your words are nothing but a small whisper. The Bible says that sometimes that’s exactly how God speaks to us too, through a small still voice. Work on being closer to God through a daily walk with Him so you can hear that voice. Spend time fostering your relationship. Learn more about Him through His Word, meditate on those verses of scriptures, and even just be acutely aware that the Holy Spirit is with you until you feel closer to God.

God called King David a man after God’s own heart. It wasn’t because David was free from sin. It was because David spent time with God, learning about Him and communicating with Him. Sometimes that sin got in the way and David made bad choices, just like we all do, but David always came back to that relationship with God.

I urge you this day and always to connect in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Pray to Him with your heart. Reach out to God in love, because He is reaching out to you.

God’s blessings to you.

DH