True prayer is simple and sincere.

Growing up, I was uncomfortable with prayer. I preferred to talk to G-d about what was going on in my life and ask for things that I needed help with. It was a good system. I didn’t have to think about the vastness of G-d and universe, and certainly no one ever talked to me about Jesus except with the yearly reminder at Christmas.

When I first went to church, I read that day’s verse. It hit a little close to home and I cried. I sat there for two hours wondering what I should do, how to make things right. I talked about my problems, I asked what I should do, but it wasn’t until, almost involuntarily instead of asking for something for myself, I asked for my friend.

Once I was taken out of the equation, a warmth and calm washed over me. It was tangible. My eyes dried and I sat for only a few more minutes and knew that whatever happened, it would be alright.

Simple and sincere.

I am once again at a place where simple and sincere are my watchwords. This is not easy for me. I’m wordy. So afraid of offense, I talk around the issue and apologize before I need to, sometimes when I don’t need to at all and the sincerity gets lost in all the wasted spaces. I need to convey feelings, and they are so complex that the extra words are already forming and the reader will get tired of them as soon as they start reading. I need to be simpler. The subject is simple; why can’t the message be?

Simple and sincere.

If I remember that in many instances in my life, it will give me great reward. One of the things I will practice here before I get too wordy.