Pray

What do you pray for?  Maybe a better question for you is, what don’t you pray for.  Throughout our days and weeks, whether we are in a specifically focused time of prayer or not, we are constantly praying.  If you were to count the actual number of times in a day when you made some kind of request, in silence or even out loud, wishing, hoping, praying for something to occur or not to occur, I think you’d be very surprised.  We seem to live our lives in a constant state of prayer.

Often, the prayers are pretty specific.  But sometimes, we are in a spot where we are at a loss for words.  The situation we are in may be so overwhelming, that we are unable to articulate what we need.

“I bow my head to pray, I don't know what to say
I'm not sure how to fix the things I'm dealing with
I'm in a desperate place, I need to share the weight
But I just don't know how, to let it all pour out
Though I'm silent, my heart is crying
Cause I was made to come to You”

This song, “Pray”, from Sanctus Real, is a wonderful prayer in and of itself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrQHNQ0hwQE).  Besides the position of complete submission the lyrics offer, I especially love the contrast of recognizing that we need God to answer our prayers, but we often don’t spend the time to actually sit down and do it, taking the moment to be with Him.

As I continue to read the Bible, my list of favorite verses located throughout continues to grow.  I love how God constantly discloses Himself to me through the Word in new ways.  There are verses that pop out and speak to me based on what is happening in my life at that time, even though I’ve read them before and not thought very much about them.  Although I would not want to discard any part of the Bible, if someone asked me to carry nothing else around but one of Paul’s Letters, it would be Romans.  I find myself returning to it continually.

One of my go-to verses is what Paul says about not worrying about the words we use in prayer.  There are times when we are so full…of pain or of joy…that we can’t even speak words to articulate what we are feeling. But that’s OK; we just need to feel and live the prayer in a way that speaks more than words can.  God knows what’s in our hearts.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26) 

“So I pray
God I need You more than words can say
Right here in this moment
You know my heart, You know my need
You know every part of me
So even if it's just to speak Your name
I'm gonna pray”

I read once that God has three answers to prayer: “Yes”, “Not Yet”, or “I have something better in mind.”  There are plenty of prayers I’ve spoken or thought during the course of my years for which I’m glad God did not give me the answer of “Yes”.  Another great song, Garth Brooks’ “Unanswered Prayers” is a favorite and comes to mind when thinking about the things I’m VERY glad God did not bring my way, if I had had my way.  Regardless, we still have this opportunity to come to Him, again and again.

So, know that you were made to come to Him in prayer.  He created you as a being that has the ability and desire to make your requests, fears and thanksgiving known in ways that only God can hear and answer.  Beautifully and awesomely, He takes it as an offering.  Even if it’s just to speak His name, pray.