{"id":4247,"date":"2012-05-09T13:28:36","date_gmt":"2012-05-09T13:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/prayables\/?p=4247"},"modified":"2012-05-09T13:28:36","modified_gmt":"2012-05-09T13:28:36","slug":"learning-how-to-talk-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayables\/2012\/05\/learning-how-to-talk-to-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Learning How to Talk to God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photo<\/a>Just before Easter, I visited a Methodist church in my neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Officially, my religious affiliation is \u201cNone.\u201d The number of religious services I attended growing up could fit on my fingers with enough left over for a peace sign. I never officially learned about the Bible, did not study religion, and was not baptized. I did not marry my husband in a church. My parents never tried to teach me anything biblical\u2014save, perhaps, for a very secular version of the \u201cGolden Rule.\u201d I\u2019ve managed to go through life almost completely ignorant of the specifics of religion besides what I picked up on in popular culture or by schoolyard gossip. I hardly know a Catholic from a Protestant, let alone the belief systems of other world religions. They are, after all, legally required to NOT teach us this stuff in most schools.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not I\u2019m an atheist. In fact, I hunger for spirituality, which is why I\u2019ve started visiting places of worship.<\/p>\n

At the church, I encounter a peculiar demonstration that the minister says is something, \u201che\u2019s trying out.\u201d In a quiet spot in the main sanctuary, he has placed three chairs, inviting us to take a respite. A short tutorial explaining \u201cHow to talk to God\u201d hangs on the wall.<\/p>\n

I take a seat because I\u2019ve been curious about this exact thing. How does one talk to God? Is it just a matter of the little voice in my head having a one-sided conversation? (As suggested by Judy Blume to a generation of young girls: \u201cHello, God, it\u2019s me, Margaret\u201d). The instructions don\u2019t advise anything like this; they simply say, \u201cListen to God\u2019s presence in the events of our lives.\u201d The text elaborates, but only slightly: \u201cWe experience Christ reaching to us through our memories. Our own personal story becomes salvation history.\u201d Can this really be true? Is God hiding in my memories?<\/p>\n

~ Corinna Nicolaou<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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