Friend-like Prayer

I have a new favorite thing to do! I will share. On days when I am going somewhere by myself (such as this morning on my way to school) I have been getting into the habit of praying out loud like God was sitting in the car with me and I was just talking and listening. It. is. amazing. Not only am I talking to the Lord Almighty, but I'm able to hear my own voice speak the words that I want my Savior to hear. Sometimes I even get really emotional because when I speak the words out loud, they take on a whole new meaning. Confession: I really struggle with prayer. My mind moves really fast, and sometimes I feel like stopping and praying for longer than two minutes is darn near impossible. I know it's not, but it DOES feel that way to me. My Savior is worth it, but I still struggle in a huge way! This area is one where I am sooo weak. Please pray for me. But back to my main point.....Has anyone ever seen the movie, "Walking across Egypt?" Well, this movie is pretty slow, but sooo good in the end. It makes me teary. Pretty much, there is a teenager who is in jail and he escapes. An old woman befriends him, and in the end, he is changed. Bottom line. Sorry, if you haven't seen it, cause I totally just spoiled it. But, it's one of those movies where nothing takes you by surprise :) But, in one of the scenes, the old lady asks Wesley (the boy) to pray. He kinda gets weirded out because he had never prayed before. She tells, "Just pray to God, like He's one of your friends." Wesley starts his prayer, "Hey God. Thanks for this food. It sure smells good. Mrs. Rigsbee can flat out cook!....." and he continues. I just find it SO sweet. It's probably my favorite scene because it reminds me that we don't have to pray a perfect prayer to get God's attention. He hears us just the same, no matter how wonderfully is escapes our lips. We need not speak a poetic prayer or talk in a certain tone or voice. Christ wants us to be who we are and simply come to Him and express our concerns, emotions, and praises. God hears us when we stumble across our words. He knows what we mean, when it doesn't come out just right. It's a wonderful and freeing thing to think about :) And this is another thing that I was thinking when it comes to prayer, and I it made me think of Brian and I. When I call and talk to Brian, I don't have to be talking about deep stuff in order for Brian to find interest. He loves when I call and talk to him for two minutes and just tell him that I miss him or I'm thinking about him. It means a lot to him just to know that I care and that I find time in my day to express myself to him. It doesn't matter what I say, or how I say it. He just wants to hear my voice and know that I'm hundreds of miles away, but still caring about him. This reminds me of Christ. We don't always have to come to Christ with "problems." Just like a friend, we can come to Him and tell Him about something that happened in our day. OR we could even just pray for two minutes and tell Christ how much He means and remind Him of how wonderful He is to us. No prayer is perfect, but we are imperfect. God finds joy in seeing His imperfect children finding rest and peace in his perfect presence. "The prayer of the upright pleases Him." -Proverbs 15:8