“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Matthew 6:7-8
“Never stop praying.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
I don’t know what to pray about!
Doesn’t God already know? Why does He need me to tell Him?
I don’t want to bother God with my minor needs... should I?
What does God do with my prayers?
I talk with many people who struggle with these particular aspects of their prayer lives. What do we say? How do we say it? Why should we share it? Does He even hear me or care? If you’ve asked yourself any of these questions, you aren’t alone. Strong men and women of God have wrestled with questions such as these for centuries... desperately realizing that there is a need to stay connected with God, but very little experience or information about how to do it.
There’s nothing overcomplicated about prayer... it’s simply a dialogue. A conversation with your Creator that cares implicitly about the details of your life. If this is so... why do we hesitate?
For some, the issue is vocabulary. We simply don’t think we have the “churchy” words that God wants us to use when we talk to Him. We don’t know Elizabethan english or long multi-syllable words that sound holy. I can assure you, God cares very little about the words we use. If we choose simple words that communicate our feelings and honor Him... we are in good shape. In today’s verse from Matthew, Jesus warns agains using words for their own sake... He calls it “babble.” We don’t want to use words simply because they sound scriptural... we want to pick those that best convey our feelings (both positively and negatively) to the One who cares so much for our hearts.
For others, the prayer issue is that we are ashamed. We haven’t prayed in awhile. A long while. We think of God like a scolding dad... ready to point His finger at us and condemn our actions. Let me assure you this morning that just because you may have temporarily hung up the phone... God has had His to His ear the whole time. He’s ready to listen and He’s willing to forgive. Don’t let the guilt of your past silence the present or get in the way of your future. Go back to prayer. Talk with God about it. Stomp your feet... cry... laugh... but don’t stop. Communication is key in any relationship and the one with your Heavenly Father is no exception.
Others of us have convinced ourselves that if we don’t reveal it to God verbally... He doesn’t know. It reminds me of preschoolers who put their hands over their eyes and say “You can’t see me!” Of course we can. And so does God. God knows our hearts...the ups and the downs... the secrets we think we keep and the emotions we outwardly show. Why not reveal those yourself? We serve a God big enough to deal with anything we can throw at Him... He is all-powerful, never-changing, and always able.
I ran across this little story about prayer...
A father, walking past his 5 year old daughter’s room one night, proudly noticed she was on her knees in prayer. Listening in, he heard this curious prayer- "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"- repeated several times. When she was finished, he asked her what it meant: "God is really smart," she said, "when I don’t know what to pray about, I just say the alphabet and He figures it out for me"
God IS really smart. And He’s loving, compassionate, forgiving, helpful, unrelenting, concerned, graceful, peaceful, full of wisdom, dedicated, and always there.
He knows what you want to pray about... and He’ll patiently wait until you choose to share it. Whatever the reason your prayer life has declined... decide today to change it. Growing relationships require honesty, trust, and consistent communication. If we want to reach our God-potential, let’s commit today to a vibrant prayer life!
