Praying at Granny's Diner

An example of Ignatian prayer style from the British Jesuits, Godtalk: Honest to God in Prayer ...

[...] When we're not honest in a re­lationship, usually the relationship begins to grow cold, distant, or formal. If we're avoiding something unpleasant, the relationship de­volves into one defined by nothing more than social niceties. Even­tually the relationship stagnates or dies.

It's the same with prayer. If we are saying only what we think we should say to God, rather than what we want to say, then our relationship will grow cold, distant, and formal. Honesty in prayer, as in life, is important.

How can we be honest with God in prayer? One way is to imagine God right in front of us. We might imagine God sitting across from us in a chair, or sitting beside us on a couch, ­use whatever image feels most comfortable. Then speak in a familiar way, in silence or out loud, about our life ....

This is pretty much how I say prayers. I usually imagine God sitting across a table from me at Once Upon a Time's Granny's Diner. It helps me to have a specific place in mind, one that's cheerful and where we can do something like eat or drink while we talk. Here's the diner from an episode of the show ... Mr. Gold has taken his girl friend Bell to the diner for the first time ... ooooh, look, french fries ....