Hello!

Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.
-Matthew 6:6 (NRSV)

I went to church, but I came away feeling empty. It was not the sermon or the people with whom I spent Sunday morning. It was me; I needed to find ways to have positive, personal prayer. I needed to go into my room and close the door, to spend more time alone with God, to pray each day, and to be specific about what I needed from God.

In Matthew 6:5-8, I saw five things Jesus was saying. Once I recognized them, they changed me and the way I pray. Now when I pray, I believe that God is listening and will respond. I believe in miracles. I do not give up on prayer; I pray and pray and pray, knocking on the Lord's door until it opens. I expect something great to happen, and I pray specifically.

Now I pray every day in a private place. I simply speak to God as I would talk to my father. I try to be responsible and to work with God instead of saying, "I'm in a mess. Save me!" I tell God exactly what is going on in my life, and we work together to find solutions. Because I am not relying on church as my only avenue for relating to God, going to church has become more rewarding.

Lee Daniel Vendig II (Texas, U.S.A.)