Rest Assured, You Are Heard
We all know that prayer is an important part of our relationship with Christ, but who can pray? Some may feel like they aren’t qualified or like they don’t have the skill to do so. From those who have a relationship with God to those who have never experienced God themselves, I’ve heard many people say, “it just feels weird to pray to God,” or, “I get too distracted when I try to pray”. I know those statements all too well because I was once there myself. Sometimes I still am! I know the awkward feeling, almost as if I’m speaking to the air, not even knowing if my prayers are being heard, who I’m even talking to, or if this prayer thing even works. I almost felt embarrassed and ashamed to be praying, feeling self-conscious about how I may sound or look. I had this misconception that there was a “right” way to pray. I believed that praying meant everything flowed smoothly out of my mouth, I used all the appropriate verbiage, I prayed for a long enough amount of time, on my knees, with my hands folded, my eyes closed, and my head to the sky. I felt as if I didn’t do those things, my prayer wouldn’t be heard. I always thought that praying was for people who were strong in their faith because their prayers meant more, as if I wasn’t worthy enough to pray to God. All of these statements are very valid feelings to have, but they aren’t the truth.
Praying is our way to communicate to our Father, and just as anyone can initiate a conversation with us, we can initiate a conversation with God. A prayer can be a simple request, desire, praise, concern, struggle, or an act of obedience. When we focus too much on the right words or the right postures, we lose sight of what’s most important: God. Our Father just wants us to invite Him into our hearts. He wants our hearts to be sincere and genuine. It’s not about putting on the right act or speaking the right words; it’s about being intentional about what we are praying about. He seeks a relationship with us, even if it may be unpolished or imperfect, and the only way to obtain that is through communication with us. No matter what we’re feeling, the best way to get our point across is to communicate with our hearts. It’s human nature to seek relationships with one another, but the best relationship we can have is with our Father. He can validate and acknowledge our innermost thoughts through prayer. Unlike relationships with other people, we don’t have to try hard to get our point across or push our opinions onto Him because with God, it comes naturally. We don’t have to worry about the awkward quietness or trying to find the right words because the quiet is where God is working to search our hearts! James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” We should speak words of prayer in any situation. You don’t have to be at a certain point in your spiritual journey, be on a prayer team, or even be a part of a church to pray. Prayer is your chance to pour out your heart to the One who always listens.
Dig Deep
The Scripture says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” (Psalm 139:23). This verse is such a wonderful prayer because it’s asking God to uncover our innermost thoughts. Well, you might ask, why pray if He already knows our thoughts? (Matthew 6:8) The answer is simple; He wants to hear them. He wants to listen to all of the intimate details of our lives. It may feel awkward and uncomfortable, just as it’s awkward or uncomfortable for some people to be social, but God doesn’t want to be just an acquaintance. He wants to be our dearest companion. He wants to know what would be revealed if we unveil the surface facades and show our true colors. God is with us everyday and knows how busy our lives can get. Every day, our minds are constantly running in a million different directions all at once, but when we pray, we can be in the moment, be still, and concentrate our thoughts on God. As we go through life, we can have those conversations that can become our way of tuning into God’s presence. During the darkest times of Jesus’ life, he reached out to his Father in prayer (Luke 22:44). During the best times of Jesus’ life, he reached out to his Father in prayer (Matthew 14:23). Prayer can become our source of strength, our safe place. It isn’t something that is refined right away. It takes practice, and there’s no shame in that because if we want to get better at something, we must practice it. Even something as simple as a hobby or social skill may take practice. These days, social anxiety can feel very real where people have a hard time starting and continuing a conversation with other people that they don’t feel comfortable with, however the more you engage in those types of scenarios, the more you understand what works for you and what may not. You begin to learn how to approach different people, how to listen, how to speak, how to respond. This is the same for prayer. Prayer may require you to silence all distractions and sit with your innermost thoughts, which can be intimidating and scary. But, God already knows where you may lack certain things, that isn’t anything He needs you to point out. Prayer is really just about confessing and believing that God has the ability to take those heartfelt thoughts and use them for His will. James 1:5-6 (NLT) says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” We stand on the firm foundation that our Father listens to our hearts, knows our brokenness, and still desires for us to come to Him the way that we are. If our hearts are faithful, our prayers become faithful. There’s a quote that says “prayer changes things” but in reality, prayer changes you! Prayer can be humbling, causing us to confront the very things that we try to steer away from, but it also teaches us to persevere because it takes great patience to know that our prayers are being heard and wait on the outcome.
Let The Lord Guide You
The Bible tells us that even those closest to Jesus, his own disciples, were given guidance on prayer. The disciples admired the way Jesus prayed and desired to be taught how to pray the way he did. In Matthew 6:7-8, Jesus said when we pray, we should ‘not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.’ This verse is saying that the Pharisees used fancy, elegant prayers that sounded good in public for all to see because the focus was about the act of praying and not on the power of the prayer itself. Jesus then teaches and guides the disciples in the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer can be used as our template when we feel at a loss for words. If we fall short of feeling like we are coming up with the right words, we can look to the Lord’s Prayer to say the words for us. This prayer can be for anyone who wants to direct their heart to the Lord. It starts in Matthew 6:9: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass.’” This prayer can direct our hearts with thanksgiving and praise, allowing us to focus our intentions and giving our attention solely to Him. Just by saying the Lord’s Prayer, we are praising God for our daily needs and praying for help in our daily struggles. We reaffirm how much God is an understanding and loving God. Each sentence in the Lord’s Prayer has meaning and can be broken down to show God’s truth. We honor God by calling out to him, “our Father”. The words “hallowed be your name” can also be translated as “let your name be kept holy” or “let your name be treated with reverence”, acknowledging that our Father is a Holy Father. When we say, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we offer ourselves as doers of God’s will, asking Him to guide us and give us the tools we need to accomplish his purpose. In the next line, “give us this day our daily bread,” we trust God to provide what He knows we need daily. We ask God for forgiveness and ask for the ability to grant forgiveness to others, “forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Then Jesus said, after teaching His disciples this prayer, “but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass.” We ask God to help us to recognize temptations and strength to overcome those temptations: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” These are the words that were given to us as an instruction from Jesus because he knew that prayer wouldn’t come easy to us as humans. He knew we would need this extra help and gave us a prayer to center our thoughts and give us an open door to communicating with our God. It’s amazing that what may seem like a small prayer can serve a bigger purpose!
Trust the Process
When we approach God in prayer with an honest and pure heart, He listens to our needs. This is a conversation that requires intention and purpose, in which God wants to know the deepest desires of your heart. He hears your words of praise, your words of concerns, your words of thanksgiving, and your words of conversation. God wants you to speak freely, spontaneously, and in your own words. All it takes is that first step to make an effort and willingness to be vulnerable enough to speak to Him. Prayer is doable, by anyone, anywhere. He’s waiting, willing to listen, and always on time! I want to reassure you that regardless of where you are at in your spiritual journey, whether you have been praying for years or have never tried it before, tear down those walls of discomfort and let your thoughts be known to our Father. The focus is on God, not on what we are doing or how we may look. God gave us freedom to pray as the Holy Spirit leads us. With that being said, I would like to end on a simple prayer: Father God, I pray that your Spirit has been pressed onto everyone who has read this. I ask you that you lead the way for those who want to be closer to you. Let our hearts seek you and give you praise. Give us a heart that seeks to glorify you. Thank you for your unconditional grace, love, and forgiveness. These things we pray in your name, Amen.
Sources:
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Life Application Study Bible- NIV
ESV and NLT, accessed through YouVersion Bible App
Prayer Does it Make a Difference?- Phillip Yancey- RightNow Media
Prayer Changes Me- Devotional Plan by Andrea Rodriguez- YouVersion Bible App