I’ll never forget that night.
We were all dressed up in our garb, ready to go, but now we had to wait for the clock to hit the top of the hour. My stomach was in knots. I must have gone to the bathroom three or four times in 20 minutes. Over and over I rehashed the words I was going to say: “Fellow graduates, parents, teachers, friends and family...”
Finally, the orchestra started to play, we walked down the aisle toward the stage to take our seats. I had thought I’d be fine once we started. But I didn’t know that I was going to have to sit on the stage for three hours—in front of 1,200 people!—before I would finally get up to give the valedictorian address.
Talking to a king
You think it’s intimidating to have to speak in front of 1,200 people? Think for a minute about what you do when you talk to God.
We’re talking to the Creator of the universe!
We’re talking to the One who knows everything that was, is or ever will be. He is in control of everything. It's a breathtakingly sobering realization.
But on the flip side, when I stood up at my graduation, I was speaking to my closest friends. I’d grown up with them, I’d played hockey with them, I’d sat next to them in class. Likewise, when we talk to God, we are talking to our friend, our confidant, our Saviour.
There is a portion of Scripture that focuses on this tension. In the letter to the Hebrews it says,
“Let us then with confidence [because of our faith in Jesus] draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
He invites you near
In this passage, God invites you to draw near to him (a.k.a. to talk to him) so that you can have the mercy and grace that you need.
Sometimes you have needs that feel huge, and God invites you to come to him with these needs. Sometimes you have needs that feel small, and God invites you to come to him with these needs. Not only does he invite you to come to him, he reassures you: Come to him with confidence because he isn’t going to turn you away.
He hears you, he will speak with you, he will answer you.
But it is vital to know why.
He is your confidence
You have this incredible opportunity because of your faith in who Jesus is and what he did for you when he died and rose again. When you accepted Jesus, you were making a statement, “Jesus’ death and resurrection is the foundation of my life.” It’s because of this foundation that you can talk to God today.
I don’t know about you, but I find this to be so freeing, because it assures me that it’s not about me. I can’t screw this foundation up—it happened 2,000 years ago. It’s not like I need to go through a certain set of formulas for God to speak to me. It’s not like I need to become a spiritual superstar before any of my prayers can be answered.
When I’m having a bad day or a bad week or a bad month, I can go to God with confidence because of my faith in Jesus.
On the flip side, we see the other half of our tension in this passage as well.
Approaching a throne
When you talk to God, you are actually approaching a throne. This isn’t the only time God uses this picture; in fact, throughout the Scriptures God describes himself as a King who rules from his throne (Psalm 45:6, Isaiah 9:7, Revelation 7:11 and 20:11).
There is one guy in the Old Testament, Isaiah, who was given a vision of God’s throne. Do you know what his immediate reaction was? He fell down on his face in fear because God was so amazing—he was convinced he was going to die (Isaiah 6)! My experience of standing in front of 1,200 people was nothing compared to Isaiah’s experience of seeing God on his throne.
God invites us to speak with him about anything and everything, but we should always keep in mind who we’re talking to.
We aren’t just chatting with a buddy in the dressing room after a game. We aren’t just talking to a friend on FaceTime.
Who is this King?
In the Scriptures we learn that God is massive:
He is in control (Ephesians 1:11)
He is all-knowing (Isaiah 46:8-11)
He is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10)
He sustains the universe (Colossians 1:15-17)
He never gets tired (Isaiah 40:28)
He is the only God (Isaiah 45:22-23)
He is infinite (Revelation 1:8)
He is always with us (Matthew 28:20)
This is the God who invites us to come to him and speak with him like a friend with complete confidence.
I love prayer because I find it so amazing. Prayer is a breathtaking picture of God, in his greatness, reaching down to me. And God doesn’t just listen to me when I talk, he also has the power and authority to act on my behalf.
Accepting the King's invitation
Wherever you are at, whatever your background or your level of knowledge, God is inviting you to come to him and talk. He wants to speak to you and he wants to listen.
The beautiful thing about talking with God is that it does not matter how big your need might be, it’s all about how big your God is. And our God is HUGE!
Let me finish up by giving you four suggestions that have made a huge impact on my own prayer life.
1. Set a location
When you want to zone in and spend some concentrated time in prayer, it is wise to choose a place with minimal distractions. I have this really comfy chair in my basement that I love to sink into when I want to talk with God. When Jesus wanted time for prayer, he went out to a quiet place (Mark 1:35).
2. Pray for specifics
Don’t be afraid to ask God for what you want or believe is best. God invites us, “ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).
At the same time, understand that because he is wise and good, he knows better than us what is best and therefore may not answer the way we expect.
3. Pray through Scripture or a book of prayers
Using other people’s prayers as a guide has taught me how to pray. Using the Scriptures to pray has given me a confidence to know that what I am saying lines up with God’s heart.
This might sound dumb, but it took me a long time to realize that I wasn’t the first person to try and talk to God. Millions of men and women who loved Jesus have gone before us; a gold mine of wisdom and insight is found in their prayers.
4. Start small, dream big, keep going
No relationship is ever built in a day or a week. If you are expecting your heart to always be in the right place, you’re going to be disappointed. We all have bad days, but remember that our foundation in talking with God is built on what Jesus has done, not what we have done.
Final word: It’s about friendship
When you wake up in the morning just say Hi to God. Ask him to fill you with his Spirit and guide you today.
As you are walking to class, thank God for some of the things around you or talk to him about what’s on your mind. The Scriptures encourage us to “rejoice always [and] pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
I love to just pray as I’m walking, driving, or sitting in my backyard.
As you walk this journey with God, if there is one thing I hope you will remember, it is this—it’s not about religion, it’s not about spiritual super-stardom, it’s not about hoops you need to jump through. It’s about a friendship with your Creator.