The initially erroneous question is: “How can God hear an ordinary person?” Who is designated by the term “simple”? Most likely, an ordinary citizen, not only unchurched, but who has not even really learned the “Our Father” in his entire life, and even sometimes forgets which side to baptize on... Every second person is like that. And they still wonder how to communicate with God directly?
Skeptics and saints will cut off the intention in the bud, but people who have deep, real faith will definitely encourage it. God does not know any definitions like “simple”, “difficult”, “important”, “unimportant”. For Him we are all simple, therefore there is nothing complicated in communicating with the Almighty. It all depends on the desire and degree of faith.
The meeting place can be changed...
Communication with God is available to everyone, everywhere - there is no need to imagine that the Creator or Jesus are accustomed to hearing us only in one specific place. Although, if a person feels comfortable in a church, then it is impossible to imagine a better space for talking with the Lord: chants, burning candles, the whole atmosphere of the church induces sincerity.
But there are people who are embarrassed to express their feelings in front of strangers - sometimes turning to God brings tears to their eyes. But this category of parishioners is not used to crying and showing their weaknesses in public.
Another thing is God. He cannot be an outsider; He can (and must!) open his heart so wide that He can come in and see everything. This is the only way help will come.
Communication with God directly can be “organized” in any quiet place: in a park, on the edge of a forest, on a lake (river, sea) shore, or perhaps it will be a familiar home environment. The main thing is that no one distracts you from the most important conversation in life.
And one more significant point: Scripture says that the temple is not stone walls, but the soul of a person. So it is necessary to rebuild it brick by brick - God needs to live somewhere.
Where and how to communicate with God. Sign of the Cross
A person communicates with God through prayer. You can pray anywhere: at home, on the road, in the field, in the forest. But there are special places that are specifically designed for prayer - temples. We will talk about this a little later.
During prayer, we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross.
This custom dates back to apostolic times. We are called Christians , that is, followers, disciples, children of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important Christian sign is the cross .
This is a symbol of the greatest Divine love. God Himself accepted martyrdom on the cross for us, and since then the cross has become holy for us. The priest put it on us at baptism, and we wear it without taking it off. When we pray, we draw the sign of the cross on ourselves. The great teacher of the Church, Saint John Chrysostom, writes: “The cross is a symbol of the Divine gift, a sign of spiritual nobility, a treasure that cannot be stolen, a gift that cannot be taken away, the foundation of holiness. We carry it with us on our bed, at meals, and everywhere we go. Just as many of the warriors do not dine, do not sleep without weapons, so now we will hang a cross on our bed instead of a sword, we will mark it on the doors instead of a bolt, we will surround every house with it instead of a wall, we will use it to protect the interior and exterior. He crushed death, opened the heavens, made the earth pure, elevated our nature to the royal throne, and put an end to the tyranny of the devil. The image of the cross is twofold: one is made of matter... and the other is immaterial, because its essence is not from matter, but it is from faith, the material is from the inner mood of the one who makes the sign of the cross.” The image of the eight-pointed cross corresponds to the historical Cross on which the Savior of the world made the atoning Sacrifice. The small upper crossbar symbolizes the tablet on which Pontius Pilate wrote in Hebrew, Greek, and Roman: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37).
The lowest crossbar represents the foot. On the left is a spear (K), with which the warrior pierced the ribs of Jesus Christ, and on the right - a cane (T) and a sponge with vinegar, which the warrior offered to the Savior. Above the middle crossbar it is customary to write the abbreviated name of Jesus Christ: IC XC. Below it is Greek: NIKA - Winner. At the top, above the sign, is the inscription: “King of Glory.” On the tablet itself or near it - “Son of God” or abbreviated as INCI - “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” In practice, the location of the above inscriptions has a certain variety.
Two pairs of letters on the cross ML RB mean: “Place Execution Paradise Byst.” The cross, on which the Savior of the world offered the atoning Sacrifice, opened the gates of paradise, which were closed after the Fall of Adam. Therefore, the place of execution (Golgotha) became paradise.
We cross ourselves like this: we put three fingers of our right hand together, and bend the other two down, pressing them to the palm. Three fingers joined together show that we believe in God, One in Three Persons. God is Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These are not three different Gods, but One God. It is not one Person, but three Persons. We will also talk about the mystery of the Holy Trinity later.
Two fingers bent down show that our Savior Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, is both True God and real Man, since He took on our human nature. Having folded the fingers of our right hand in this way, we make the sign of the cross, placing them first on the forehead (to sanctify our mind and all thoughts), then to the stomach (to sanctify our inner, mental and physical nature), then we place our fingers on the right shoulder and on left (as a sign that we sanctify, dedicate all our actions to serving God and the salvation of the soul). When making the sign of the cross, we stand upright, and placing it on ourselves, we bow, as if worshiping an inscribed cross. If we do not read any other prayer, the sign of the cross is accompanied by the words (you can say them to yourself): “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". We sign the cross on ourselves during prayer at home, at church services, when we pass by a church or want to enter it. When setting out on a journey, in moments of danger, and generally at any convenient time, we call on God for help.
Preparing for the conversation
Before you begin full-fledged communication, you need to carry out several preliminary things: warn God that an important and possibly long conversation is necessary, that it cannot begin spontaneously, since it is difficult to find words, and household members or business are distracting.
Having no experience in how to communicate with God directly, you need to start with the simplest: read a prayer, if you know; if not, don’t worry, the simplest words coming from the heart are not inferior in power to prayerful ones. It’s great if you can allocate a certain time in your schedule for God - 15 to 30 minutes a day will be enough - and make this communication constant.
You need to perceive God as your best friend (yes, he is), and it would be good to learn to introduce Him and treat Him as if you had known each other for a hundred years (which is also possible). In this way, a person better understands who he is talking to, and the conversation, as they say, “goes well.”
Who is the initiator of the meeting?
Man is accustomed to thinking that he is the one who arranges a rendezvous for God. To some extent, yes. However, we should remember that we come to the Lord only when life strongly presses or batters us. We don’t have such a habit - to simply thank the Creator in moments when we feel good, when everything is stable and wonderful for us, but these are the same 15 minutes that the patient and loving Lord has been waiting for from us for years.
And while we spend time thinking about how to communicate with God directly, and whether we, sinners, will succeed, He is in full readiness to listen to everyone. He waits for us with our bad and good news. He is waiting for us to finally deign to let Him into our souls. Waiting, like parents, always.
Where to start the conversation
There is no point in jumping into a conversation and burdening God with problems: first of all, you need to calm down and create an atmosphere of friendly trust. This is especially important for those who have not turned to the Lord for a long time (or perhaps never in their lives) and have no idea how to communicate with God without intermediaries. The creator also needs time to get used to a new interlocutor.
But the standard phrases that we usually use in conversations with people will be inappropriate in this case.
The most correct thing is to voice what is currently going on in the soul. If this is timidity, then you need to say: “God, I’ve never spoken to You before, so I’m a little lost, help me.”
If you have difficulty formulating phrases, tell God about it. And about what’s in your head right now - not a single thought, but the conversation is so important, and about the fact that you feel a little tired, but you will definitely gather all your strength for today’s conversation.
After such simple confessions, the heart, as a rule, opens, and further conversation flows smoothly and naturally.
Why is communication with God necessary?
Atheists deny the existence of God, but as one wise man said: “There are no atheists in a falling plane.” A person begins to seek the Lord most often in a moment of sorrow, when only one hope remains - the Creator. It is then that people begin to ask themselves and everyone around, “How to talk to God so that He hears me?”
Communication with God
Some people worry that the Lord is too high and doesn’t care about people’s problems; others worry that they won’t be able to find the right words. So, where should you start and how should you communicate with God?
To begin with, you should understand that the Lord is always waiting for a person and longs for communication with him. He created man to communicate with him, so one should not be afraid that the Lord is busy with important matters. His most important business is a person, because He is always waiting for him and wants to listen, so there is no need to put it off.
Man was created to communicate with the Creator. This is our goal and task. That is why people often feel empty inside, nothing can fill them, quench their thirst. Such a person always lacks communication with the Lord. Only by having a relationship with the Almighty can a person quench this spiritual thirst. Of course, not everyone knows how to do this.
About prayer as communication with God:
- How to pray and read the Orthodox prayer correctly
- Which icon to pray for health
- Is there any point in turning to God?
To begin with, you need to figure out what a relationship with the Creator is and how to start communicating with Him. Every person has relationships: with loved ones, relatives, neighbors, friends and other people. Not all relationships were deep to begin with. It all starts with constant regular conversation, spending time together.
Important! We all BUILD relationships with people, and by the same principle we should BUILD relationships with Heavenly Father.
Communication with the Creator fills and nourishes us. Jesus Christ spoke more about spiritual bread, i.e. about communication and prayer. It is this kind of bread that Christians, and indeed all people, should care about most of all. One should not think that a sinner is not allowed to pray and communicate with the Heavenly Father or that He does not hear him. Christ said: “I did not come to the mighty of this world, but to the weak and weak.” Sinners are the very weak and infirm, and it is they who most of all need the salvation that comes from holy communion with the Lord.
So, communication with the Lord is necessary for every person, but here, too, there is a danger that pride and a hard heart bring. If a person reads a prayer book in the morning and thinks that this is enough. Moreover, he reads hastily, in a hurry, thinking that the action itself is important - this is not so.
You can pray on the bus, but have a repentant, sincere heart and the same prayer. This is precisely what the Heavenly Father regards as prayer and communication with Him. What matters is not what a person does (prays, reads, sings), but with what heart he does it. Confidence in one’s own infallibility and what is right is a dangerous pride that grows like a wall between the Creator and man.
The prayer rule, first of all, warns that it is necessary to tune your heart to communicate and listen to the Lord so that you can pray correctly.
Having tuned the heart, a person can speak correctly with the Creator, can be heard by Him and, in turn, hear the Father. Such correct prayer is called a tuning fork because it helps to hear and listen.
A person is like a kind of musical instrument. The important internal thing that is in it, Communication with the Creator nourishes our spirit, fills us, makes us like Christ. By regularly communicating with the Creator, a person changes, as if he were changing from constant communication with a person.
Wait for an answer... wait for an answer...
If you were unable to feel the presence of the Lord immediately, here and now, there is no need to be upset: He will definitely find a way to communicate. Especially if the person met the main conditions of the meeting - love and honesty.
And although some esotericists claim that communication with God directly occurs through the subtle structures of the brain, there is another opinion - that the Lord speaks to people through the sympathetic nervous system, namely the solar plexus - the seat of the soul.
It is impossible not to feel God’s answer - there, in the solar region, uncontrollable joy begins to bubble. As the heroes of one play said, “carom” sounds. An unshakable confidence appears that everything will be fine, and out of nowhere (just out of nowhere) great love and forgiveness grows for everyone in the world, even for inveterate and unsympathetic opponents.
That's basically what it feels like, God's answer. There may be variations - individual for everyone, but always positive and optimistic.
How to correctly ask for help from God and the Higher Powers?
Most people, turning to God for help, forget about observing a number of rules that must be taken into account in order for the Almighty to hear them. Practical advice for those who turn to God for help:
- Ask only for good things and set worthy goals for yourself. Do not wish harm on anyone, it is destructive for your soul. For evil people it is worth asking for fair judgment from Above. But under no circumstances make your situation worse with vindictive thoughts.
- Carry out regular cleansing of your thoughts . Always remember that your cunning is visible to the Lord, so when turning to him, you should not be disingenuous by interpreting your motivation differently to yourself. Your motives must be pure and selfless.
- Thank God for any decision he makes on your issue . Accept what is given to them with desire and trepidation. Remember that everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds. Therefore, be humble in your requests and do not bargain.
- Be active. Remember that you are asking for help, and not for doing something yourself. You yourself must actively move towards achieving success, and God only guides you and helps you achieve what you want. Don't sit back and do nothing. The more responsible the approach, the more support you will feel. Don’t be lazy and don’t shy away from working on yourself, prove that you are worthy of His mercy.
- Always keep your promises to the Lord . Always think before you say anything. And always achieve what you promised to the Almighty. You may want to write down your vows so you don't forget them. Prove to Him that you are a man of your word, and what you say is not an empty phrase. Deceivers may not expect loyalty.
- Place the emphasis correctly in your petitions . You will achieve the greatest encouragement from our Lord if your requests are worthy. Therefore, always ask Him:
- Understanding His will;
- Protecting your soul from adversity and passions;
- Knowing the true way to correct mistakes,
- Awareness of sins and their correction;
- Ask for the bestowal of good qualities;
Do good with your deeds, and God will definitely hear your request.
A book about self-healing or Your own healer - Simple recipes for health.
7. Thank the Higher Powers for everything that has been done for you . This applies not only to positive things and events that happen to you. But also those difficult lessons that fate taught you, as a result of which you gained wisdom and strength to move on. Ungrateful petitioners risk being left without what they already had.
8. Build phrases clearly and precisely . Prayers addressed to Heaven can be submitted either orally or in writing. Thoughts expressed on paper are often the most truthful.
Remember the simple proverb - “The road is conquered by the one who walks”, and take it into your arsenal. Aspiration alone is not enough to achieve everything you want. Therefore, always try to take the initiative.
In order for your requests to be effective and achieve a solution, engage in cleansing of the soul. Read the Bible, the Lives of the Saints and delve into the very essence of their existence. You can go on a trip to the shrines. The special atmosphere of various sacred places has a beneficial effect on the spiritual state.
Observe church fasts and holidays, attend church and do not neglect Holy Communion. You may even be surprised at how light your inner worldview can be when there is no heavy burden on your soul.
Try to follow the basic list of commandments. It is not necessary to suddenly become a strongly religious person. Take your time, act step by step and only at the behest of your heart. There will be no good if everything you do is contrived and artificial.
Find a spiritual mentor for yourself. This helps many people to clear their minds. Especially if you are not a fan of telling different people about your troubles. One person you choose for this purpose will listen to you patiently and give good advice.
Who is a Spiritual Guide, read here: Who is a Spiritual Guide? How to find a Spiritual Guide? Methods of exposing charlatans.
The path to God is not an easy process, but everyone should strive for it. And the sooner you start implementing this plan, the better. Don't carry evil within yourself. Sincerely wish the best for those around you, and also moderate your anger.
Take care of your loved ones by mentioning them in your prayers. Discuss your decisions with them and point out their shortcomings so that when you meet the Lord, he will grant you eternal peace and tranquility. This is the only way you can count on the help and protection of your Guardian Angels, who protect you always and everywhere.
God is not a goldfish. It is important to know and understand how to ask God for help, because God and the Higher Powers are not a goldfish or a seller in the market with whom you can bargain. Achieving your own commercial interests is a dirty approach to God.
