Is Prayer a Two-Way Conversation?

Have you ever heard that prayer is a two-way conversation? Perhaps you’ve poured out your heart to God in prayer, only to feel like God is ignoring you or that you are doing prayer wrong because you don’t hear anything back? 

I have great news for you! You’ve been taught wrong, but there is nothing wrong with you. 

Even with the best of intentions, some preachers and teachers who have not properly studied the Scriptures say things that confuse a lot of people when put into practice. 

Here are three liberating truths that will help you enjoy prayer more, and feel ignored less. 

TRUTH 1: Prayer is not a two-way conversation

If the Bible (not popular opinion) is our source for truth and practice, then we ought to define prayer the way the Bible does — not according to a smooth talking preacher. 

Prayer in Greek (New Testament) and Hebrew (Old Testament) is defined as a petition, entreaty, and request of a deity. Nowhere is prayer described as a two-way conversation. In the New Testament one of the most commonly used verbs is proseúchomai (noun proseuché) and it derives from the words pros, meaning to be near, to be towards, or unto, and the word euche which is an expression of a vow to God. Without question, the words used in Scripture to describe prayer make it about you coming near or unto God, and expressing yourself before Him. 

In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray and not once models a two-way approach. Prayer is speaking to God. 

TRUTH 2: Prayer is not about a “still small voice”

Decades ago the phrase “still small voice” started popping up everywhere. Popular preachers and teachers started describing their internal feelings or convictions as a voice — a still small voice. Where did that lead to? A lot of confusion. 

People began to say things like, “I felt like the Lord spoke to my heart and said…” or “I feel like I heard a still small voice in my heart say…” This led to people treating prayer like a mystical exercise in which we sit in silence, waiting for God to speak in a still small voice to us. Perhaps we have a thought, or a feeling and wonder: “God, is that you?” The whole exercise can be incredibly confusing as we wonder which thought was God’s voice and which one was ours! 

But wait…isn’t there a still small voice in Scripture? Yes! It happened once and involved Elijah the prophet. You should know it was an audible, actual, divine voice in 1 Kings 19:11-13. This was not a situation in which someone sat in mystical silence waiting for God to speak to them in their head or heart. This was also Elijah; a very special prophet who was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11-12). Whatever your theological background, using a one-time experience in Elijah’s incredibly unique life is not going to lead you down a path of clarity. If you decide to head that way, just make sure you make ax heads float like his protégé Elisha (2 Kings 6:1-7), can call down fire from heaven like Elijah did (1 Kings 18:38), and have a chariot take you to heaven too. The still small voice in that singular moment for Elijah was God’s audible voice — on the outside, not the inside. 

TRUTH 3: God Speaks to You Through Scripture 

So when does the two-way conversation begin? When you follow up prayer with the reading of Scripture. Prayer is you talking to God, the Scriptures are God talking to you! 

Some people will struggle with this concept because of the “what about” scenarios. What about the person who said they audibly heard from God? What about the time that you thought a thought that ended up being true? What about the really popular preacher who says he/she heard God “more clearly than ever!”? 

Experiences are subjective and are an endless trail of argument. I don’t know what they experienced, but I do know what Scripture teaches. Are you content with that? If not, you may have an issue with the sufficiency of Scripture. 

Perhaps you’ve thought a thought or felt a feeling that ended up being true? Or maybe, you’ve been praying and felt such a strong conviction about something or someone that you immediately picked up the phone and it was the most incredible moment in which God used you? What was that? 

It would be perfectly biblical to say that a Christian filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), being led by the Spirit, walking by the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23), having the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and being filled richly with the Word of Christ is going to think thoughts, have desires, and act out the will of Christ! None of this means God literally spoke to you, but it does mean you are walking with obedience and confidence according to His revealed will. 

You don’t need to wait for the still small voice. You don’t need to feel like a second-class citizen because you don’t hear God like some claim. Pray to God, then read the Word of God, and go live your life for the glory of God!