The term "conversational prayer" is not an unusual one. Neither is it original. I've found many groups of young people and adults using this direct, honest approach to God. Yet the word conversation needs a fresh defining.

What is conversation?

It is a method which should provide communication between two or more people. Unfortunately, it is usually listed among the lost arts of today.

To understand conversational prayer, it will be a great help if we get the following four points about real conversation clearly in our minds.

1. When we converse, we become aware. Aware of the other person, his rights, his privileges, his feeling, and if we converse long enough, his total personality.

2. Good conversation implies that we must take turn about and do it gracefully. When one person does all the talking we call it (if we are polite) a monologue.

3. Finally, it should be clear that to converse we must all pursue the same subject, and pursue it by turns. We are, in a sense, the listening and speaking members of a team. We have agreed to agree upon our subject of conversation, and to do this each one must decide what is relevant and important at the moment.

4. To carry on a conversation of any significance or interest, each person must use his memory to recall, his patience to wait, his alertness to jump in, his willingness


from: http://www.ccel.us/prayer.ch3.html

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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon