The other night we were praying at a prayer group and one sweet lady’s prayer was so beautiful to me…so short…so sweet. She said she wasn’t sure how to pray. She felt timid. She felt unworthy. She felt without knowledge. I thought her prayer was the most humble of all: short, sincere, and pleasing to our Lord.
To reinforce what the Lord was teaching me about prayer, today at lunch, Hannah was making “wrong choices” (chucking food everywhere, yelling “no, no NO!”)…and Lewis of course was pointing it out to me…I asked him if he wanted to pray for her to help encourage her to do the right thing…he used to say, “no mommy, but you can pray for me/her and I’ll listen”….or “I’ll pray later…later mommy, ok?”….and now, he prays right away…mostly when we are sick…but today he decided to pray for sissy right then. He said, “God, help sissy make right choices, Amen.” And Hannah chimed in with an “Amen” right on cue! Lewis then said to me, “Mommy, I like short prayers.” I said, “me too, Lewis, me too.” But…I think it is a process for me to know HOW to pray short prayers. We are meant to pray unceasing, but to also pray most earnestly. I know Jesus’s heart is most glad with the simple, most earnest prayers.
I am learning that shorter is better. Less is more. Especially in prayer. He knows our hearts. He knows our desires. He knows every number on our head. What is it He wants most from us in prayer then? I think, to humble ourselves before Him. To know our proper place in the most amazing relationship between us and our Creator. And to have an intimate conversation with Him. The rest…He tells us in His word…Worship/Praise, thanks, petition, etc….but mostly, a relationship with Him. Let our fears not come before that. However we can pray to start praying, is most important to Him I think.
Walking in Faith 