Communicating with God is essentially a simple process. Prayer is talking, while mediation is listening. We can pray and meditate anytime and anywhere. It’s so easy! Yet praying and meditating can feel like an obligation instead of an opportunity, if we think we have to follow some type of formula to pray or meditate the “right” way. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for prayer and meditation, however. We all have the freedom to pray and meditate in whatever ways work best for us. In Wake Up to Wonder, I describe some of the formulaic prayer and meditation methods I previously used, and how breaking free of them opened up fresh encounters with awe. Communicating with God shouldn’t be a stressful process. We don’t need to worry that God won’t accept our prayers if we’re not talking with him in certain ways, such as using formal language. We won’t miss out on hearing God’s messages to us if we’re not listening in certain ways, like sitting perfectly still with our eyes closed. When we simply pray and meditate with a clear mind and an open heart – in whatever ways come most naturally to us at the time – God will meet us there. All sorts of possibilities exist for praying and meditating. We can sing our prayers, dance our prayers, draw our prayers, or write them in a poem. We can meditate while walking, cooking, driving, or even doing housework. There are no limits, as long as we’re focusing our energy on communicating with God. Since God has no barriers to communicating with us, we shouldn’t have any barriers either. There’s nothing wrong with following prayer and meditation methods that genuinely help you for specific purposes. But if any of those methods feel like chores, feel free to let go of them. Communicating with God is meant to be an enjoyable process that leads to wonder! What formulaic methods of prayer and meditation do you want to let go? How can you start praying and meditating in fresh ways?
Learn more about experiencing God’s wonder in Wake Up to Wonder (order the paperback or the e-book) and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year (order the paperback or the e-book).