When I first came to Christ, I had no understanding what prayer was all about. When I attended church, I heard people pray beautiful prayers. I was probably like most new Christians. I saw prayer as a form of public speaking. Many people prayed in a language that was quite different from normal conversation. They used "thee" and "thou" to address God. Therefore, I was somewhat intimidated.

Then one day a friend of mine began praying in a small Bible study group that I was attending. He was also a new Christian. When he prayed, there seemed to be such reality. God's presence filled the small band of students. I'd never experienced that kind of praying. It was fresh. It was reality.

What was the difference in my friend's prayer and so many others that I had heard pray when I was a new Christian? Simply this - he was real, and his prayer had a simple honesty to it. He wasn't trying to impress anyone with his spirituality. He wasn't constructing a speech. He spoke in his own language - not one with which he was unfamiliar. He simply prayed with an honest heart.

Prayer is the communion of two hearts - the heart of God and the heart of man. It's communication with the Creator of the universe at its deepest level. It's not an attempt to impress man or God. It's simply being for real. If there's one truth that we must know about prayer, it's truth! We can't be fake. We can't wear a mask into the secret place of prayer. We must approach God in a spirit of genuineness.

If we're hurting, we need to be honest about that. If there's sin in our lives, we don't need to try to cover it up. If we're excited about a victory we've experienced, then we need to rejoice and give praise and thanksgiving to God for all that He's done. If we're defeated, we need to cry out for help. If we're apathetic and don't care that we're apathetic, then we need to be honest about that, and ask God for the grace to change.

Honesty must be the condition of a truly praying heart. Otherwise, prayer is nothing more than religious duty. When the Bible speaks of powerful praying, it speaks of honest praying. The book of James says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16 NIV). Honest confession and God's healing go hand in hand.

If you desire to be a man or woman of prayer, it begins with honesty. It's impossible to wear a mask in the presence of the One who knows everything. He already knows the condition of your heart. The reason we need to be honest isn't for His sake, but for our sake. When we open our hearts genuinely and sincerely to Him, then He comes. He meets with us. He answers us. And, yes, He heals the broken heart .