When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he taught them what we now call the Lord’s Prayer. However, he preferred to pray in solitude and often went off alone to do so.

This practice has become my preference, too. Simple, unscripted, honest conversations with God are precious to me. Once I learned to forget the stale, numb, sometimes theatrical, prayers I’d witnessed over the years, I began to feel God’s words in reply.

It has become my belief that when God said he created us in His image, he meant the spirit, not the material body. The spirit within each of us is a tiny atom of God Himself. We are literally His children. We are connected to Him, and to each other, through the Holy Spirit.

If we quiet our minds (the ego), and surrender material struggles in favor of faith, we can feel God within us. We can also be more empathetic to each other, even if we don’t agree. Jesus wanted us to understand this and experience it fully.

Since I began studying independently, I have felt the disapproval of other Christians. As disappointing as that has been, it has not discouraged me from continuing. This path feels right for me. Everyone deserves, and in fact has, the right to walk their own path without stumbling blocks.

Jesus came to show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. The journey to get there is our own.