What was happening that day is a story for another time, but I will say He did answer those few words that my tongue could get out. Prayer is such an interesting thing....we all pray so different and it means something different to each one of us. Some of us recite prayers we learned from a young age, some of us only pray before our meals or when something bad seems to be happening. Some of us pray beautiful skillfully done prayers while some of us are more of the short and sweet type. Some of us have designated times we pray and some of us pray whenever we are led. Whatever way you seem to pray can I just try and encourage you for a moment?
I have had conversations with some wonderful women in the past few months. Women that I know love the Lord with all their heart. And when the conversations switch to prayer, they have confided in me that prayer can sometimes feel so stiff. And at times they feel like they don't know what to say or how to say it. For me prayer has seem to come easy. Now I'm not one to like to pray in front of others, however I have always spoken to the Lord like He is my friend. Like He is sitting right next to me....no fanciness or added words I don't usually use. Some of my prayers are longer and some short. The truth of the matter is, Jesus already knows what's hidden in our hearts. He already knows what we need therefore He already knows what we are going to say. So why does prayer still feel so formal most of the time to us? Why do we seem to put so much pressure on what we say and how we say it? I don't know the answer to that question for you but I do know Jesus just wants us to take the time to talk to Him. No matter what words we choose.
Prayer is powerful. Bold beautiful things happen when we pray. Miracles take place. We don't always get the answers we want, but no matter what if we make it a point to pray we do know that it brings us closer to the Almighty. It's a gift I think we have taken for granted in today's world. We say to anyone going through a hard time, "I will be praying for you.." But then we seem to not take the time to pray or we just simply don't know what to pray. Can I just tell you that your prayers don't have to be fancy? They don't have to be long or full of exquisite words. If all you can get out at the moment is "Jesus....Jesus...Jesus" in between your tears....He will come running. He will still hear you. He will still know what your heart needs. If you see a struggling mama in the grocery store and feel the nudge to pray for her, even a short: "Jesus give her what she needs today" is sufficient at times. We don't always have to carve out these long amounts of time for prayer. We don't have to use fancy words or try to sound so skillful. What would happen if we as Christians started praying more? What if we took the pressure off of trying to make prayers sound so 'amazingly awesome' and 'skillful' and instead took the time to say short simple honest prayers through the day?
"Lord give me strength."
"Make me more like You."
"Be with that mama Lord"
"May that man know You."
"Be with our country..."
Or even simply...."Jesus..Jesus...Jesus"
If we turn our hearts and minds to pray simple prayers throughout the day would we be praying more? Would our hearts be more in line with Jesus? Would we be more likely to hear His voice? If we stopped making prayer sound like such a 'religious' ritual and instead made it more intertwined with our everyday life would our lives look different? Would they feel different? I can't speak for you, but I can say when I make it a point to pray short simple prayers throughout my day...my heart feels better. I feel closer to Jesus, like He is walking with me through my day. My emotions seem to be more in check instead of out of control and dependent on my circumstances. His presence fills up the space I'm in. I'm more aware of all He is and wants for me.
So friend, maybe you are like some of my sweet friends out there thinking they don't know how to pray. Maybe you feel like your praying is stiff and therefore you just avoid it all together. It doesn't have to be that way. Jesus is our Lord and Savior but He is also our friend. He doesn't need big words. He doesn't need a lengthy 20 minute prayer. All He wants is you. He wants to hear your heart. He wants to have you talk with Him and know without a doubt that He is near and He hears your cries...We do need to carve out time to spend with Him each day, but maybe...just maybe if we make it a point to pray short simple prayers throughout the day, our hearts won't feel so stiff when we talk to Him anymore. Our hearts might be more open to the Holy Spirit when we are called to pray. And we will start to feel even closer to Him than ever before....
That day as I was on the floor crying out His name over and over and over again....He heard me. I didn't need to sound fancy or long. He was right there with us in that room. He didn't need me stating what my heart longed for....all He needed was me searching for His heart and His hand.....
"When you pray don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They will think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again..."
-Matthew 6:7
"And pray in the Sprit on all occassions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."
-Ephesians 6:18
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