Prayer

It never fails to amaze: whenever there’s an open-mic for who wants to pray, you will always hear at least one certain excuse.

“But I’m not good at praying!”

I don’t know whether it’s insecurity, Christian culture indoctrination, or plain old “I don’t want to so this seems like it’s good to say,” but whichever it is, it’s simply not true.

There is no “good” prayer.

As for myself, I feel that I’ve been conditioned to think that if a prayer is short, then it’s somehow less holy or not as “good” as someone who prays for an hour. I’ve always carried around a little bit of guilt for this, like I’m somehow not “good enough” because I don’t do that. I pray in short spurts, and I’m trying to make more of those short spurts. But it never fails that when I hear someone bragging about how long their prayers are, I feel like a bad Christian. Like a bad...uh, pray-er?

But Matthew 6:7-8 (NLV) kind of puts the brakes on this belief: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles 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!”

I’m not saying Jesus discouraged praying for long spurts of time, but He also didn’t say “You’re absolutely a terrible pray-er and human being if you don’t pray for that amount of time.”

And you know how we can be certain of that?

Because when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He didn’t give them a long winded speech. His model prayer didn’t last for chapters upon chapters or become a sermon. In fact, we only need three verses to record what he said! Luke 11:2-4 (and no, I didn’t miscount, we need verses 2, 3, and 4, and numbers are weird, but that’s a little side tangent) says this: “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, amen.”

If you recite this prayer, then it’s only really 30 seconds in time. Think about that for just one moment: the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, and he gave them an answer in (about) 30 seconds. He didn’t give them a position to get into, or tell them how loudly or quietly they had to pray, or beat his chest or wail or be dramatic. And yet, in 30 seconds, He managed to give us a profound bit of wisdom that includes: praise, acknowledgement of God’s authority and power, a plea for our physical lives, and a request to lead us away from temptation. Isn’t that what we need every day?

Isn’t it comforting to know that, when Jesus was asked for a “good” prayer, He didn’t put much stock into how much time was put in it...but into how much heart was put in it?

Praise God that He always looks at the heart!

I know another common excuse is “I don’t know what to say.” Folks, humans have been using this excuse since the beginning of time. Adam didn’t know what to say, so he blamed Eve. Moses didn’t know what to say to Pharaoh, so he asked for Aaron to accompany him.

I think a lot of people get bogged down by long-winded prayers that sound like a little mini-sermon. They’re eloquent. They’re refined. They hit all of the “key points” that people want to hear in prayers. And people then doubt themselves: “Well, I can’t pray like so-and-so. I always mumble or stumble over my words. I always say the same thing, too! I’m just no good at praying, so why even bother?”

False.

There is no “right” or “wrong” way to pray. You don’t have to impress anyone with your extensive vocabulary or how loquacious you can be. You’re not trying to impress man. You’re praying to God. You’re talking to God. And God knows your heart and what you need, even if you aren’t sure how to get the words out.

In fact, a beautiful promise from the Bible assures us that, even when we don’t know what to say, the Holy Spirit does. (“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26, ESV) You see? It doesn’t matter if you don’t sound like a Jane Austen hero or heroine when you pray. God will accept your heart, even if you stutter (like Moses). Even if you can’t utter a single word besides His Name: God will still hear. God will still understand.

Lastly, I think another common excuse, especially in youth group/church/public settings. People may be fine with praying alone in their room, but when it comes to stepping up and doing it in front of people, they always balk at the idea. It’s like we all get suddenly tongue-tied and worried about how we’re not “good” enough in various ways (again, just like Moses!). Plus, there’s a reason that public speaking consistently ranks as one of the main phobias that people have.

But God isn’t the public—and it’s really Him who we’re addressing. It doesn’t matter what your Aunt Franny thinks about your prayer. It doesn’t matter if everyone thinks you’re dumb for praying out loud. Your prayers are not for them. They’re meant for God. They’re meant to bless you—and others who are seeking the blessings. And they’ll receive the blessings whether or not you give a short prayer, a long prayer, whether you stammer or pronounce each word like an English thespian. Prayer is a sacred moment, and no human awkwardness can interrupt a sacred moment.

In short, we need to shake off the chains that bind us to the backwards thinking of: “there is a good/bad way to pray.” I would dare to say that the only “bad” way to pray would be with an attitude of indifference in your heart: “ugh, why do I have to do this? I hate praying. I don’t want to pray. Ugh.” But any prayer given from a heart that genuinely seeks to converse with God, to approach His throne and give thanks, is automatically a good one. No matter whether it’s in your head, out loud, long, short, etc., etc.—a heart that desires conversation with God is already all you need to be a “good” pray-er.