I had a long, pleasant conversation with a dear friend about praying the other day. He said that he used to repeat the word “God” a lot in his prayers, as if he was trying to turn God’s head, just like when you call out a friend’s name for them to turn their head toward you. He felt that he needed to keep calling out God’s name to get His attention while he prayed.
Then he mentioned that in Spanish, they pray using “tu”, the familiar form of “you”. It reminded him that prayer is like a conversation between two friends. He realized that you do not need to keep getting God’s attention. He is always there, waiting for you to speak with Him.
Thinking about my own prayers, I have always addressed God in the second person in my prayers, but how I start has changed over the past year. I used to always start out with Lord, as if I was bowing in front of a king with my petty, little petitions. (This is ironic considering that I have had problems with the king metaphor earlier in my life.) Then I moved to addressing Him simply as God, and for the last couple months, Father. I still address Him as Lord and God at different times, but Father is the one I now use most.
How do you address God in your prayers? Do you address Him as God, Lord, or the more intimate form of Father?
Do you pray in the third person, using Him? Or do you pray in the second person, as in a conversation, and address God as You?