I used to say that prayer is talking to God. 

I was trying to explain prayer to Penny’s friend Rachel, who has Down syndrome and is newly interested in Christianity. 

And I realized that “talking to God” doesn’t quite explain what I mean. What I mean includes talking to God. And being with God. And listening to God. I really mean that prayer is communicating with God, in all the ways that humans have been given to communicate. 

Over the course of a day, I communicate with my husband through texts, through words that I speak out loud only to him, and through words that I speak in the presence of other people. I communicate with gestures. I communicate by leaning against him and experiencing his presence. 

Similarly, we can write out what we want to express to God. We can say our words out loud. We can gather with other people and speak or listen to what they have to say to God. We can simply sit, quiet and still, and enjoy God’s presence. 

Prayer is more than talking. It is communicating with our whole selves with the whole being of the one who is love.

More with Amy Julia:

• Three Ways to Bring Prayer to the Body
• A Life-Changing Daily Prayer Practice: Prayer of Examen
• A Prayer for Healing

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