God wants us to communicate with Him even though He knows our thoughts already. He knows we need communicating with Him to develop our relationship with Him. Jesus spent a fair amount of time talking about praying (Matthew 6:5-18) plus He regularly spent time communicating with His Father when He was on earth (Mark 1:35) to find out what the Father wanted Him to do (John 5:19). That is quite fascinating because Jesus was God on earth.
If Jesus spent time communicating through prayer with His Father, that is a good indication that we need to develop our communication skills with Jesus and the Father too. Jesus and God the Father and the Holy Spirit are one so praying to one, they all hear you. The following are some ways and guidelines that can be used to become a developing communicator with Jesus as He instructed the apostles in Matthew 6:5-18.
Before discussing talking to Jesus, remember good communicators not only talk but even more importantly, literally listen, get quiet (turn off the cell phone), laying aside things you are doing and let God through the Holy Spirit communicate with your spirit. Perhaps sometimes, you can read something from the Bible and then allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you regarding that passage. Invite Him to speak to you by asking Him to speak to you.
Now, when talking to Jesus, be honest and sincere. There is not a need to use big words. Tell Him how you feel because He knows already. Be specific. Praying is not an exercise to impress people, in fact, when you communicate with Jesus, do it by yourself. There will be many times you will pray with others (which is an excellent group activity). When you do, do not impress people with your words or how you pray. You are focused on communicating with Jesus, not attempting to show how spiritual you are. The people you are praying with should not be giving you a score on how well you pray.
Some people struggle staying focused or not know what to say. They begin with, “Dear Jesus” and get stuck. The following is a tool that can be of help. The acronym is ACTS. “A” stands for adoration. Spend some time praising Jesus for His nature and attributes like being holy, majestic, gracious, just, merciful, wonderful, perfect, humble, in control of all things that His will be done and loving. Reading through some of the Psalms offer ways to praise the Lord.
“C” stands for confession. Confess the sins you have committed and ask God to reveal to give insight to those you need to forgive or seek forgiveness (then go ask forgiveness from those people or extend forgiveness to those who hurt you).
“T” stands for thanksgiving. Thank Jesus for what is going on in your life, for food, shelter, life, friends, school, a job, blessings, both good and bad lessons you have learned. There is a great deal to thank God for.
“S” stands for supplication or praying for others and yourself. Pray for wisdom, for ways to get out of situations where you will be tempted to sin, your and others’ needs, salvation of friends and family, sickness, guidance, studying well in preparation for a test and finances. Depending on where you live in the world, literally praying for your food each day is a reality. Again there is so much to ask for.
Begin to use some of these suggestions to communicate more often with Jesus. Watch how your relationship develop as you stay in communication with Him!
