"Good" and "Bad" prayers

So, I have been wandering a bit, learning here and there what others say in their blogs about spirituality and creativity. There are many more of those than I have had time to read. And they come from all angles. But those that are written by individuals who have come from a Chrisitian framework, seem more frequently to start from some of the assumptions that I feel called to lay aside: that there are good and bad prayers, which of course implies that there is a right way and a a wrong way to pray--which of course moves prayers to a level similar to a speech if it is done with others present or a business letter, if it is written down.

I remember thinking somewhere in my young adult years, that it seemed the way we talked about God and prayer made it sound as if he/she was a cosmic vending machine. All you had to do was say the right things, do the right things, i.e. insert the coins.   That action, of course, would result in the preferred blessings to pop out, like Divinely inspired twinkies.  No appearance of the twinkies would clearly mean that the appropriate coinage had not been inserted. After all, this is God who, unlike vending machines, never malfunctions! 

So, if we didn't get what we ordered, it must be because we were not following the instructions correctly, right?  

Or maybe, we could approach it in a different way.

Perhaps I am not linear enough but, what about relationship? You know--you learn about each other, talk a little, listen a little, share the hard stuff--that kind of relationship? Are our conversations with a lover/significant other based on what that person will do for us if we say what we want in just the right way? Are they based on how much better than us that person is or how many times we tell them how fabulous they are or that they are ever so worthy of our praise, while we are no better than the dust of the earth? Well, come to think of it, maybe some of them are. But, if that is true, they are not so healthy.

And wouldn't such a relationship include things like being playful, sparking each other's imagination, making each other laugh? Wouldn't it involve being inspired by the twinkle in each other's eyes, or words, or voices and knowing oneself better because of knowing the other? Why are we so afraid to let God be God and realize that God really wants us to be us?

I have grabbed with great gusto the concept of "praying outside the lines" because I believe the lines we set for prayer, the dos and the don'ts, are  usually more about our own self images than God's requirements for relationship.