Casual prayer?

[Henoch]

So this is a personal question I was wondering if we can cry Abba Father can we converse with God about every thought that crosses our mind as we talk to our friends(about secular topics as well) or as we talk to our parents

Before I was saved when I didn't really understand the majesty or sovereignty of God and talked to a god my own mind made up because I wasn't informed by Scripture
But if we talk to God like a friend can we like talk about every single secular topic as well
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
— Ecclesiastes 5:2

Coz when I stand before a king I mostly wouldn't reveal everything to him but would try to be as formal as possible, not so with a friend(and Abraham is called God's friend Is 41:8) with whom we discuss all kinds of things

Apart from adoration, confession and thanksgiving, petitions and supplications are these prayers acceptable?
Like talking to God about every single thing that crosses our mind/about how our day went/random secular topics etc. without losing our reverence and fear for Him as transcendent King of Kings and Lord of Lords Only Wise God dwelling in unapproachable light

Brothers what do y'all think about these things? please help me and give me more understanding on this!

 

[alexanderjames]

Since we are to pray always and do all things to the glory of God it follows we may bring everything to God in prayer in such a way that is honouring to Him.

Your comments about how we relate to God are very good. Whilst there are similarities with the examples you give (friend, parent, king, etc), and the Scriptures use these as pictures, the Lord is not the same as these earthly relations, and our disposition towards Him should be determined on the basis of a full revelation of Himself and how we relate to Him as His creatures, sinners saved by grace, covenant children taught by His Spirit.

I propose that it feels so often alien or hard for us to come into such a posture of due reverence before God because we are much too earthbound and often worldly. Rather we ought to cultivate this posture of filial communion as it were continuously, and our goal is to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" as we walk as pilgrims.

Unsurprisingly, this is where the puritans were strong. They spoke a lot about ejaculatory prayers, occasional mediation, the posture of the heart, and purposeful contemplative reflection for prayer.

I'd like others to chime in, and I think much of this is learned experientially, but I'm wondering if you have more specific examples in mind?

 

[Faithhopelove24]

Philippians 4:6

 

[MW]

Coz when I stand before a king I mostly wouldn't reveal everything to him but would try to be as formal as possible, not so with a friend(and Abraham is called God's friend Is 41:8) with whom we discuss all kinds of things

A king is a man with limited time, patience, and knowledge. Because of that, we naturally become formal, selective, and guarded in his presence. But God is not a man. He is everywhere present, and He understands our thoughts from afar. He searches the heart and the mind. There is nothing we can hide from Him, and nothing we need to hide.

Becoming conscious of that is powerful. It brings our thoughts under His eye, and that very awareness helps subdue and order them. As His grace sanctifies our inner life, our thoughts begin to move in a God‑ward direction. At that point they are already functioning as prayers in substance. All that remains is the deliberate act of offering them to God, and that is simply the recognition of His presence in the very thoughts we are thinking.

As we learn to take our thoughts captive, our reasoning becomes the reasoning of obedient children. We serve Him as a child serves his Father, and He spares us as a Father spares the son who serves Him. That relationship has a closeness and familiarity far deeper than anything else we can experience. In that intimacy it is perfectly fitting to think out our thoughts before Him, to let desire rise within them, and to acknowledge what we still lack.

But with all this, it remains important to have set times of prayer. The nearness of God in our thoughts must not displace the religious act of calling upon Him. Bodily gestures and postures matter; they express reverence. And the setting apart of time for Him is part of honouring Him as God. The informal does not replace the formal. It should enrich it.