In this age of information and endless access to word after word after word…I am always startled at Jesus’ economy of words, the way He spoke so few and yet meant so much, the way His five word answers left everyone else speechless.
And in my own days of feeling like all I do is not enough and wondering if my prayers are anemic and short winded, when there are books and books and formula after formula, Jesus offers just over fifty words and says,
‘Hey, come over here and sit with me, listen to me here. You don’t have to talk long. Come and be with me, come and pray like I do.’
And in fifty words, He carries me from the grand sovereign will of the King of the Universe all the way down to the bread crumbs at my little breakfast table. His words stretch from eternal heaven to my next door neighbor. And there are no excuses that can excuse me from just lifting these words to Him each day.
I so want to be a praying woman but I so struggle to find the time and space to sit down and actually pray. When I think about being prayerful, I picture myself on my knees in that closet for at least a half hour. And I oversleep or a child wakes early and the minutes tick past and another day passes and I’m still not prayerful.
I forget the small things, the little moments, the fact that a prayerful woman is just a woman that is full of prayers even if these are nothing more than prayerful words lifted up all throughout the chaotic day.
I forget that days are really just hours and hours are really just minutes and minutes are really just seconds all strung together and that I really could fill a day full of holy prayerful seconds.
And maybe then I’d find my way to that closet? Maybe the little whispers and the heartfelt requests and the quiet ‘thank you’s’ would prompt me to sneak away for a longer talk. Who knows? Will I ever know if I don’t just start somewhere, don’t just start small?
So, I take heart as Jesus takes mine and I lift these short small things to Jesus in the midst of these sometimes harried moments. And I can see it as the days pass, the small whispers all lifted together into one long intimate quiet prayer and I wonder if He might use these small things to make me into a holy thing-His very own prayerful servant.
These are just a few of the small prayers we can whisper throughout our days. There’s no need to babble or feel the need to go on and on. He already knows all we need.
1. Your Will be Done (Matthew 6:10)
2. Search Me and Know Me, Lead Me and Show Me (Psalm 139:23-24)
3. Fill Me with Joy in Your Presence (Psalm 16:11)
4. Restore the Joy of My Salvation, Sustain Me with a Willing Spirit (Psalm 51:12)
5.Keep Me in Perfect Peace, Keep my Mind on You (Isaiah 26:3)
6. Convince Me of Your Love Right Now so I can Love Like You (John 13:34)
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:7-8
This is one post in a series about small things, find more posts on small things here.
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