We finished discussing the artcile about the development of one's conscience and in finishing the article, its last remarks and conclusions were related to the book The Adventures of Hucklberry Finn. The article focused on Huck Finn's development and conversion of conscience.
The article also mentions a quote of Huck Finn in which he said, "I cannot pray a lie." This idea of praying a lie reminded me of the book I read whose title is The Purpose Driven Life. This book was one of the best books I had ever read. It gave an extremely deep insight into life and how God is the driving force of life. In particular, there was a chapter that spoke of one's relationship with God. This chapter emphasized the idea that in forming a relationship with God, one must be honest. God knows all things so it is a futile endeavor to lie.
This reinforces the idea of praying from the heart. It is easy to say something without meaning what you say. It is similar to telling someone you love them, when in your heart, you know that you in reality don't and you are perhaps saying it becuase he/she has said it back to you. Words can be powerful when said from the heart but they can also be meaningless when not said from the heart. God however wants you to pray with meaning and I believe that God would rather you say nothing than to pray a lie. There is a crucial difference in prayer when one prays with an open mind and heart as apposed to prayer that is just said. It reminds me of a story I heard whena an went to confession and for his penance all he had to say was one "Our Father." However the priest told him that when he says it, to say it from the heart and to reflect after each line on what he was saying. The man did so and as he began the first line..."Our Father," he pasued and he reflected. Tears filled his eyes as the thought of his dead father came to mind. Yet though his earthly father came to mind he also thought of God as his father who is always with him.
The Purpose Driven Life also went int specifics about the actual communication and conversation. God accepts each of us for the individual we are, with our mistakes, with our imperfections, with our tears, with our joys. This acceptance shoudl allow us to be ourselves when talking to God. He is not there to judge us, but He is there to listen and love us. There is no use lying to God when praying, He knows what's in your heart despite what you say or tell Him. Most of all, one doesn't have to wear a mask when talking to God. He wants us to be ourselves, but most of all He wants us to talk to Him being ourselves. The conversation and the prayer doesn't have to be formal and it doesn't have to be the same prayer that you usually say. God hears so many prayers, wouldn't it be nice to make yours unique and different from everyone else's? The best way to do this is by being yourself because we are all unique and different. You don't always have to pray to God, you can talk to Him too. When I pray, I talk to Him, I tell Him everything and even though He already knows everything and even perhaps what I am about to say, I know that He enjoys it when I tell Him myself. More importantly however, I am truthful in what I say. I tell Him when I'm having a great day, when I'm having a bad one, when I am hopeless, I tell Him when I need help because my best friend is mad at me, I cry to Him in tears telling Him what's making me so upset, I tell Him when I have a lot to do one day and that I am really going to need His help to get through it, I tell Him when I'm nervous, when I'm excited or when I'm feeling just a little down. Our communication is an important aspect of my life. It is my personal and direct connection to him and it keeps Him informed. I can tell Him what I need and what I want and I know that He will answer every prayer. There is a bible verse that says "Do not worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Phil. 4:6. Through prayer and supplication, people sometimes say, God didn't answer my prayer, but it is not that He didn't answer it, it is that He answered it in a way that He knew what was best for you because after all, God knows more about you than you do your own self. And because of this, it is futile to lie to Him, He knows all and there's no getting around it.