Perfect Prayer

(I confess that I stole the idea for this blog entry from a sermon by one of my pastors.)

I am lousy at praying—at least, that’s what I feel. If I am invited to pray at church or at a family gathering, my mind can go blank, and afterwards I remember all the things I should have said but didn’t. Luke tells us that before Jesus chose his twelve apostles, he spent the whole night in prayer,[1] yet when I pray for more than a few minutes at a time, my mind starts to wander.

But here’s the good news: prayer doesn’t have to be perfect. Prayer is like a conversation with God.[2] And as in any conversation, perfection is not the goal. The goal is communication.

So how do we communicate with God? Obviously, one way is through words. But Paul recognized that words sometimes fail us. So he gave us this reassurance in his letter to the Romans:

Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.[3]

I am convinced that only one thing is necessary for “perfect” prayer—that we seek God’s will. We see this in the quote from Romans, above: “according to the will of God.” We see it in the so-called Lord’s Prayer: “Your will be done.”[4] And we see it in the example Jesus gave us in Gethsemane: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”[5]

So don’t worry about making a “perfect” prayer. Just talk to God, and listen for his response—but listen with your heart, not your ears.

[1]. Luke 6:12-13

[2]. Many view prayer as a one-sided conversation, but I do not. While God has never communicated to me through words, he does communicate through thoughts and feelings that seemingly arise out of nowhere.

[3]. Romans 8:26-27 (italics in original, indicating that the italicized words are implied, but not explicit)

[4]. Matthew 6:10

[5]. Matthew 26:39; see also Mark 14:36 and Luke 22:42