#107 - How to Pray {Reflections}

What if prayer didn’t feel like a performance, but a place to breathe? We’re sharing a three-part rhythm built around a single word—here—that makes space for presence, release, and direction. It starts with “Here I am,” a small, courageous act of showing up to God as we are. From there, we imagine the steady reply—“Here I am”—and rest in the reality that we are not alone. No fancy language, no spiritual gymnastics, just real presence that calms the noise and recenters our attention.

Next, we move to “Here, God—take this.” This is where honesty becomes freedom. We hand over the heavy things we pretend we can manage: fear we can’t shake, relationships on the edge, work anxiety, anger we keep feeding, private shame that won’t let go. Think of it as unclenching your hands so you can receive what actually heals. Ancient wisdom insists that confession isn’t a spectacle but a doorway; when our hands aren’t full of “my precious,” we can receive mercy, clarity, and strength.

Finally, we ask, “Where do we go from here?” Instead of waiting for a five-year plan, we listen for a right-sized next step—call a friend, make the appointment, apologize, apply, rest, try again. Curiosity becomes obedience in motion. We carry the question through the day: at the sink, on a walk, between emails. Over time, this simple cadence forms a life that’s attentive and lighter to carry, with choices that feel aligned rather than forced.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re praying “right,” this conversation lowers the bar and lifts the heart. Give the three H.E.R.E.s a try, then tell us what shifted for you—subscribe, share with a friend who needs some peace today, and leave a quick review to help others find their way here.

Join us! Facebook | Instagram | www.clcelkriver.org

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Hey, what is up everybody?
Welcome to our ReflectionsPodcast.
Ryan here.
And I hey listen, I I gave asermon a while ago, but I wanted
to revisit it on a podcastbecause somebody reminded me of
it.
I was like, oh man, that waspretty good.
And not because I wrote it.
I just mean like I againsometimes I give these sermons
and I'm like, I I when I'mwriting them, I just
fundamentally believe what'scoming out.

(00:36):
Like, this is really good forme, too.
You know what I'm saying?
And so it was on prayer, andlike I I I kind of came up with
this three, uh, three-part wayto pray, like a formula.
Now, look, there's no right orwrong way to pray.
I mean, I'm sure there probablyis, but like uh Roberta Bondi
says, if you want to pray,you're already doing it
correctly, which I love.
And so I want to try to lowerthe bar for all of us.

(00:57):
Anyone who wants to pray outthere, first of all, I want to
just lower the bar, and youwanting to pray is an
incredibly, you know, beautifulthing.
And so keep kind of going downthat trail and see where it
leads you.
And um, but I want to offer thissimple, three sort of step way
to pray.
And if you try it, let me knowhow it goes.
But I love it, it's kind of whatI do.
I did it unintentionally, andthen I sort of put some words to

(01:18):
it, and I I actually kind oflike it.
So I don't know, here it is.
But it's the three here'sH-E-R-E.
There's three of them.
So here, here, and here.
And you can use this as a way topray.
And I I hope it just alleviatessome pressure or expectations of
how you should or shouldn't, orwhat's right, or what's right,
you know, and just do it and seewhat happens.

(01:38):
It's pretty low bar, but uh, Ithink it's a beautiful way that
can go in all kinds of wonderfuldirections.
So the three here, here theyare.
Uh, number one, uh, the firsthere, H-E-R-E, is here I am.
So I think prayer is justshowing up a lot of the times.
Just sit down or stand up orwalk and just sh say to God,
God, here I am.

(02:01):
And uh listen for God as hewould say back to you, or as you
can imagine him saying back.
Sometimes we have a hard timelike, Am I hearing God?
Well, you can just imagine whatGod would say, knowing his
character and his nature in thein the Bible.
You can imagine that he mightsay something back to you like
this, like, Oh yeah, well, hereI am.
And so there you are.
Here you are, uh, and then youhear God say back, here he is,

(02:24):
and here you both are.
And that is incredible.
You have this moment you'reyou're you're recognizing that
you're communing with God, likeyou're in the presence of God.
God is with you, you are withGod, and you have said, you've
opened your heart, your eyes,and your ears to say, here I am,
God, and God has sort ofreturned and said, and here I
am.
And there's plenty of scripturesthat talk about the ever-present

(02:46):
presence of God.
And so you can know that that'sreally what's going on.
And that, in and of itself, isunbelievably profound and
mystical and wonderful, and canshape us and transform us if you
just sit there and recognize,well, God is here and here I am.
So the first here is here I am.
And you hear God say back toyou, here I am.
And I think that's man, justshowing up in that way is uh is

(03:10):
is just wonderful.
So start there.
That's the first here.
The second here is uh I thinksome of my best prayers when I
say to God, here, God, you takethis.
And so the second here is here,here, God.
And so we offer God all thesethings we've been carrying,
whether it's requests like, heyGod, my my dad is sick.
Will you please help me carrythis burden?

(03:31):
Would you bring healing?
Here, take this, God.
Uh, my marriage is on the rocks,my job is uh hanging by a
thread, I might get fired, orI'm I'm just or maybe I'm just
I'm so full of fear these days,God.
Here, take this burden of fear,and I feel lost or in disarray,
and I feel confused ordepressed.
I just don't know what to dowith my life.
God, here, take this.
And I think it's a wonderful wayjust to bring whatever it is.

(03:54):
It could be like, God, I'mstruggling once again with this
certain thing in my life, this,you know, whether it's uh you
know discouragement or or gossipor or slander or uh, you know,
anger or violence, whatever yourthing is, you know, your sin or
your baggage, bring it to God,here, God, take this.
We say it central all the time.
The only thing you need to bringto the altar for communion, you

(04:16):
don't don't bring youraccomplishments because we don't
care.
Don't bring your, you know, youraccolade, your report card, we
don't care.
All you need to bring is yoursins.
Like just bring them and justdump them there at the cross and
at the foot of the altar.
Like that's what God wants.
And so the second here, afteryou've shown up and said, Hey,
God, here I am, and God saidback to you, here I am, and then
you say, Okay, here, God, takethis.

(04:36):
And God isn't embarrassed orashamed of what you're gonna
bring, he already knows anyway,so you might as well just bring
it anyway.
And God's even sometimes like,hey, that thing I see you hiding
behind your back that you don'twant to let go of, hey, I'll
take that too.
That's if you if you let me, letme take that from you.
And uh, God is is all too readyto do that.
The the Bible says, uh Paulwrites that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.

(04:57):
And so just know that.
That's uh and and then in 1John, if you're talking about
sin, 1 John says that uh if weconfess our sins, we bring these
things to God, he is faithfuland just to forgive us of all of
our sins.
And uh in the Greek there, theword all means all.
It means all of them, and uh andcleanse us from all, again, all
unrighteousness.

(05:17):
So really it's just you showingup and just letting them go.
You know what I mean?
I love that.
So here I am.
Uh here God take this.
Um by the way, I love whatAugustine said.
Augustine said that God wants togive us so many good and
wonderful things, but he can'tbecause our hands are already
too full.
It's like, yeah, we're so busycarrying and holding on to these
things.
It's like we're like the Lord ofthe Rings, like the like the you

(05:39):
know, holding on to this ring,my precious, and we don't want
to let it go.
Uh, all the while it's like, letthat go and I'll give you
something even better.
I don't mean like let go of thatand I'll give you a nice
Porsche.
I don't mean that, but like, ora brand new uh a new car or a
new house, but rather it's likewe cling to things in our lives
that we so desperately want tohold on to that we think will
give us life, and it cannot giveus life.
And God's like, let me take thatfrom you, let go of the precious

(06:01):
ring, and I'll give you lifeinstead.
And that's hard though.
Remember at the end of thatmovie, he tries to let go of the
ring, and it I think Gollum isit, Gollum bites his finger off,
and then Gollum falls into thepit after it.
It's like it's this chaoticscene, like just throw the ring
in the thing.
We got it, just do it.
But it's absolute chaos becausewe have a hard time letting go
of these things in our livesthat we so desperately want to
cling to.

(06:22):
So prayer is this practice oflike, here, God, you take this.
Take my wound, my baggage, myoffense, my uh sin, my my junk,
my my bitterness, and take it,God.
Because you can handle it betterthan I can.
Okay, number three is uh thenyou kind of wrap, and this can
take two minutes, three minutes,it can take an hour.
You could sit in this for a longtime.
If you could do it for a wholeweekend.
The third here is um, where dowe go from here?

(06:46):
And so, yeah, you you'vecommuned with God, you've you've
you've you've you've presencedyourself with God, you've opened
your heart, your eyes, yourears, your mind.
God is in the same to you,you've had this connection in
some way, and you've given Godall these things, even your
requests, you've asked him forthings, you've given things over
to him, and now what?
Like, where do you want to gonow, God?
And so I love this questionbecause it's one of curiosity.

(07:08):
Okay, now what, God?
Where do we go from here?
What do you want of me today?
How do you want me to be like aninstrument, you know, for you?
Or how can I be a blessing tothe world for you?
Or what do you want to show meas I go throughout the day, or
maybe even in a grander way?
What do you want me to do withmy life?
What do you want to how do youwant to give myself to the
world?
What can I do to make this worlda better place?
And uh, where are you callingme, asking me to go, inviting me

(07:28):
to go?
And uh, yeah, God, where do wego from here?
And that one can go throughoutthe whole day.
Just keep asking yourself, wheredo I go from here, God?
And now, where do I go fromhere, God?
And now, what about from here,God?
So there you go.
My hope and my prayer is thatyou will try this and at least
know one that like what RobertaBondi said is so good.
If you want to pray, you'realready doing it right.
And then try this.

(07:49):
The three here's here I am, God,and here, take this, God.
And uh, God, where do you wantto go from here?
Alright, if you try it, let meknow, and I'd love to hear how
it goes.
All right, love you guys, peace.
Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'dlove to have you share it with
some friends.
And don't forget, you are alwayswelcome to join us in person at
Central in Elk River at 8:30,which is our liturgical

(08:12):
gathering, or at 10 o'clock, ourmodern gathering.
Or you can check us out onlineat clcelkriver.org.
Peace.