The Gift of an Honest, Two-Way Conversation With God  

What do you value in a conversation with a friend? 

I’m grateful when I can be real and honest, and my friend is interested and seeking to understand me. It’s an even greater gift when they also share deeply about their own related experiences. In good conversations like these, time seems to stop.   

Prayer is even better than talking to your close friends. Prayer is deepening your relationship with God by entering into a conversation with the one who created you, loves you unconditionally, and understands you more than anyone else. 

Talking Honestly with God 

God has power to help us, change our circumstances, and transform our lives and perspectives. We can be completely honest and vulnerable with God, bringing to him anything and everything that’s on our hearts and happening in our lives. 

This verse from Hebrews 4:15 really encourages me to be fully honest with God when I pray, “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There, we will receive mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”   

We know that we can talk to God about big and small things: our health issues, stresses about our classes or futures, our anxieties, losing someone important to us, our friendships, our search for belonging, our desires for change, etc.   

I love the Psalms because we can see how God’s people in Scripture brought their full selves to God in prayer. 

“I cry out to God without holding back…” Psalm 77:1 

“I am like an owl in the desert, like a lonely owl in a far off wilderness” Psalm102:2 

“I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me O God, by your saving power” Psalm 69:29 

“Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow” Psalm 25:4 

Notice that the psalmist doesn’t hold back in sharing intense emotions with God. But we shouldn’t only tell God about our pain. Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His faithful love endures forever.” 

We can come to God when we feel poor, powerless, and in great need. But we can also come to him when we are full of joy and thankfulness! This is what it means to bring our full and honest selves to God.   

A Two-Way Conversation 

For many years, I thought prayer was just a one-way conversation. I asked God for what I or others around me needed but never stopped to listen. I didn’t expect God to talk back to me.   

Most of us have had conversations where the other person is talking and has no interest in listening to us. Those conversations — if you can even call them that — are usually not very pleasant. Yet that is how we often relate to God. 

God wants to have a two-way conversation with us. 

As we pray, let’s also take time to hear how God responds. You may not have experienced listening to God before or maybe you have doubts that he even does speak back. But in Scripture, God says… 

 “Listen to me; listen and pay close attention.” Isaiah 28:23 

“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.” Isaiah 3:55 

When we take time to listen to God, our relationship with him grows and changes even more than when we just talk to or at him. 

So, how do we listen to God? 

It starts by taking undistracted time in God’s presence and asking him to speak to us. 

In 1 Samuel 3:10, Samuel says “speak, your servant is listening.” 

It might be hard, but setting aside our phones or devices can give us the distraction-free space we need to focus on our conversation with him. 

Ask God questions like, What do you want to say to me Lord? or What are you doing in this situation? 

Here are a few practical things we can do to get into the practice of listening to and recognizing God’s voice: 

1. Read Scripture   

When we read Scripture, we can ask God questions about what we’re reading. 

What are you wanting me to see in this Scripture passage? we might ask. Or What are you saying to me in this story? How can I apply what you’re saying to me?

2. Listen to God in Creation 

God can speak to us when we take time in his creation, so get outside in a beautiful place or just somewhere that feels peaceful to you. 

One afternoon at a fall retreat, we worked at a taro farm and asked the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Afterwards, we all shared what we heard from God. He spoke to us about a variety of different things, from our identities to life situations, to relationships.   

Take time to be still in his creation and ask God what he wants to say to you. He may use something he created to speak to you in a powerful way. 

One simple question you could ask is, God, what are you revealing to me through your creation? 

3. Write to God 

It may help to write out your dialogue with God, presenting your concerns to him and then writing down what you feel he’s saying in return. Below is an example of what this could look like: 

God, I’m concerned about … 

(What God says back to you …) 

What do you mean by that Lord? 

Remember that when God speaks to us, he never contradicts his character or Scripture. If we sense we are hearing something from God about life or direction, we should also experience him confirming it through close friends or mentors in the Christian community we are a part of. 

God Longs to Connect With Us 

As we continue a new year, let’s be intentional about having two-way conversations with God. Let’s also share honestly about our thoughts and feelings and then take time to really listen. I know someone who doesn’t even start his daily time with the Lord by sharing. He starts by listening. 

When I’m intentional about having conversations like this with God, I experience greater peace. I start to long for his presence and feel deeply connected to him and his character. God longs for us to be intimate with him. 

My prayer for you this year is that the Lord becomes your best friend and trusted advisor, guiding you through your joys and your sorrows. May he fill you with his presence and open your lives to the power of an honest, two-way conversation. 

Are you interested in more prayer resources? Check out our prayer guides and other helpful tools in our library!