Prayer: A Conversation, Not Just a Petition

Earlier this week, my friend Muthoni Kangara wrote and said that we need to grow to the point where prayer is conversational rather than just petitional. As much as I agreed with her in part, I struggled to fully concur on the idea that this is a growth area. No, I believe that should be the starting point—the normal, not the goal. But the conversation went on and iron sharpened iron.


Think about it. When you got born again, how did it happen? It wasn’t through a formalized petition; it was a conversation. God spoke to you, convicted you of sin, and convinced you of the need for righteousness. And what did you do? You responded. You confessed your sins and committed to a life of repentance. It was a back-and-forth—a conversation.  


So how did we move from conversing with God to just listing requests? Somewhere along the way, we either lost our relationship with Him or were conditioned by religion to think of prayer as a formalized ritual. Either way, the result is the same: instead of talking with God, we just talk at Him.  


But Scripture paints a different picture.  


From the very beginning, God spoke, and men spoke back... responded. Adam walked with God in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Moses spoke with God as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Abraham interceded for Sodom in a literal conversation with God (Genesis 18:16-33). These men were not just making petitions—they were having real conversations.  


And then there’s Jesus. He didn’t just teach His disciples how to pray—He called them friends (John 15:15). Friends don’t just present requests; they talk, they listen, they engage. When His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1), He didn’t give them a formula—He gave them a conversation starter: “Our Father…” A relationship, not a ritual.  


Even the Old Testament, often seen as a collection of laws and commands, is filled with God’s direct speech. If you scan through it, you’ll find that 20-25% of the text consists of God’s own words. Some books, like Leviticus, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, are over half direct speech from God. Others, like the historical books, contain fewer direct words but still show God engaging in dialogue with His people.  


- In Genesis through Deuteronomy, God’s voice is everywhere—giving instructions, making covenants, and calling people by name.  

- In the Prophets, we repeatedly see, “Thus says the Lord…”—God actively speaking, not just waiting for people to petition Him.  

- Even in Job, where God is mostly silent, He eventually steps in with a full conversation (Job 38-41).  


The pattern is clear: God speaks, and His people respond. That’s prayer.  


But here’s where Muthoni’s point on growth comes in. Many people don’t hear God—not because He isn’t speaking, but because they don’t recognize His voice. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27), but what happens when the sheep don’t know what their Shepherd sounds like? Some don’t wait to hear Him, others don’t know that He speaks, and others aren’t even aware that prayer is meant to be a two-way conversation. Without this understanding, we risk talking at God rather than with Him.  


Growth in prayer, then, is not about making it conversational—it was designed to be that way from the start. The growth comes in recognizing, discerning, and responding to God’s voice. It’s about maturity in the relationship. Just as a father provides the basics—food, clothes, shelter—he also desires a deeper bond with his children. In the same way, God wants us to move past just asking for needs to seeking His heart (Matthew 7:7).  


So, how did we miss that? How did we reduce prayer to a list of requests instead of a living dialogue? The early believers understood this. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), which doesn’t mean walking around chanting words—it means living in continuous conversation with God.  


The good news? It’s not too late to reclaim that reality. We don’t need to grow into conversational prayer—we need to return to it. Because that’s how it was always meant to be.


I highly recommend a reading through the writings of Thomas Ashbrook in the book Mansions of the Heart. In this book he explores the seven stages of spiritual growth. You can also listen to the song Direct by Ekko Dyda... https://youtu.be/wOw_MCPyjfk?si=DBU8kGd8ZGoYnNOG




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When the firstborn dies.

Image
Everything Changes When a Firstborn Dies. Today, I found myself reflecting on ancient Egypt—specifically, during the reign of the Pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph (Exodus 1:8). It was a time of great power, but also of great sorrow, especially when things took a tragic turn. Now, you might know the story, but let's revisit it a bit. Joseph, the shepherd boy and his father’s favorite, found himself in a bit of a pickle. His brothers, tired of his dreams and his fancy coat, sold him off to some merchants. These merchants then sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. Fast forward a few years, and our boy Joseph had climbed the ranks in Egypt, from slave to leader. He was well-known, respected, and even had a family. Then, a severe drought struck, and Egypt, under Joseph’s brilliant management, became the region’s breadbasket. It’s said that the grain stores were so full that they stopped keeping records (Genesis 41:49). This abundance attracted people from all over, including Joseph’s own...
Read more

Dear Parents, pray.

Image
Parenting is not just physical care—it is spiritual warfare. The story of Abraham and Lot (Genesis 18-19) teaches us that we cannot assume our children will follow God simply because we raised them in the faith. We must intercede  for them as well. Below is a structured prayer guide based on this biblical account to help guardians stand in the gap for their children.   1. A Prayer of Surrender: Acknowledging God’s Authority. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25) Prayer : Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that You alone are the righteous Judge. You see the hearts of my children better than I do. I surrender them to You, knowing that only Your wisdom, mercy, and love can truly transform them. Help me trust Your ways even when I don’t understand them. Declaration : I release my children(insert names) into Your hands, Lord. You created them, and You know their future. I will not live in fear but in faith that You are working in their lives.  ...
Read more

Inheritance wasters

Image
Having lived in a village setup for almost two years now, I’ve had the rare privilege of not just hearing but also seeing  inheritance stories—some that end in peace and others that would make you cry.   But nothing beats the story in scripture about a certain guardian who toiled for years to secure his two children, only for the plot to take a " Wacha tu " turn. The younger son boldly demanded his share, squandered it on what we’d now call “soft life gone wrong,” and returned home looking like he’d lost a wrestling match with life. Meanwhile, the elder son lived in his father’s house but with the attitude of a squatter—completely unaware that the remaining property was his (Luke 15:11-32).   Now, who’s to blame here? The guardians? Did they hand over the inheritance too soon? Or maybe they failed to clarify to the elder son that “ Boss, everything here is yours! ”? Or perhaps the problem lies with the children. One was a waster, the other a grumbler. Maybe they...
Read more