My husband surprised me.
There we were in church during prayer time. The beautiful time set aside to speak prayer requests into audible formation. The time just before we have communion and are fed as part of the family.
He started praying for me. Blessings on my trip and time away for a few days to connect with other writers.
My heart about melts.
Prayers finish drifting heavenward.
We are sitting there in the slight lull, and he leans over. “Ooops, I was also going to add . . . . . . . . and I forgot,” he says.”
Now I don’t know about you, but this is a regular occurrence with me. I am praying about something and then later I add another bullet point. A point I forgot the first time. Sometimes I add multiple bullet points throughout the day. Because I am remembering things I forgot, or because I am thinking of new things.
So, I just tipped my mouth close to his ear and said, “Thanks.”
And he whispers back, “I think God knew what I meant to say.”
And we share a smile.
Because he does. He knows our hearts and what we desire to say and all the points we have floating about our brain. And the beauty is, we don’t have to say it all perfectly, or in order, or even all the main points, because he already knows.
He wants to hear what we have to say, but if we forget a bullet point, he will fill it in and consider it said. Because he knows the groaning and longings of our hearts and our unspoken words we forget and meant to say. Even the thoughts we can’t figure out how to put into words and struggle to make sense of.
Don’t worry. He gets the gist. The message. The whole prayer.
He’s not going to deny one part of the request because we failed to mention it, but grant the rest because you did remember it. God doesn’t work that way.
Quit worrying so much about your prayers.
We don’t need to worry that our prayers will be thrown out if they are not good enough, or are not spoken in the right format, or not spiritual enough.
No, we don’t need to worry because the Spirit is working on our behalf. The Holy Spirit knows what we are trying to say, even when we can’t form our thoughts into requests and audible prayers. It intercedes and prays for us in accordance with the Father’s will.
Now I don’t know about you, but this is a great comfort to me. Because I have trouble communicating on a daily basis in spoken words. I am constantly saying the wrong thing. Forgetting to say things. Saying one thing, but in my mind thinking something else.
I am thinking Denver, but say Dallas. And the person I am talking to is looking confused and like they walked into the middle of a movie they know nothing about. And sometimes they ask, “Do you mean Denver?” And I will then look confused, because I am thinking that is what I really said. And now we have two confused people, which can be confusing in itself. Then I will figure out I once again said the wrong thing and say, “Yes, of course I meant Denver. Didn’t I say Denver?” And they will assure me I did not.
Now when you have this kind of track record with just about everyone you know, you can get a little worried when it comes to talking to God. But see, I don’t need to worry, because God knew we would have trouble communicating with him in our prayers. Our thoughts would get jumbled. We would say the wrong thing. Forget key points. Our minds would drift off topic. We would fall asleep. We would remember hours later what we really meant to say. Maybe days later. And there would be times we would not even know how to begin our prayer or even what to say.
But that’s alright. The holy spirit that dwells in us is taking care of this miscommunication problem for us. And that is a beautiful thing.
And another beautiful thing is that we can utter another forgotten bullet point anytime of the day or night and not have to repeat the original request. No worries, it all gets put together and delivered as an understandable and beautiful prayer.
What to remember.
So quit worrying about your prayers. Or that you forgot something. Or that you didn’t say it right. Or that you remember twenty-three more things to add ten days later. God hears your prayers and knows what you are saying because the Holy Spirit is interceding.
Forget trying to impress. Trying to say the right thing in the correct order.
Forget making mistakes or saying the wrong thing during your prayers.
Just talk. Because God is so concerned with what you are saying that he drops everything and comes running to listen to what you are really saying.
It all makes sense to him.
Always.
Thanks for stopping by. Keep remembering what’s important!
Theresa
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I can remember so many things I asked for that later I was so glad that he DIDN’T answer! I’m so glad that the answer to our prayers doesn’t depend on us saying the right words, but we can trust His grace and the Holy Spirit to give us what we need!
So true, Karen. It’s about him, not us or what we say.
Is that why the Bible says to pray without ceasing? To add all those bullet points? Lol I think it is. And to keep thanking Him for all He is providing throughout the day.
What a wonderful reminder to relax and just talk to our Father. No stress. Thank you my dear Sister for the reminder!
Love your thinking, sweet sister! And your humor. Yup, adding bullet points and thanking him throughout the day.
I love that God always understands what we mean and knows our hearts even when we can’t articulate it well or we forget to pray something we intend to.
It is such a comfort, isn’t it. Good friends are like that too. I get home after our time together and think, I should have said this and told them that, and do they know how special they are? And yes they do. Because we know each other so well. God as our good friend knows too.
I started crying when I read this. I have been miserable lately and unable to stay on subject in my prayers. The guilt just adds to the load. This is a very comforting posting. Thank you from the heart.
Colleen, so glad this helped. All of us have trouble staying on subject with prayers. Don’t feel guilty. Just keep praying and talking to God. He hears you and knows your sweet heart.
What a relief that we don’t have to say things exactly right. If we forget something, He is faithful to remember. Beautiful pictures here. 🙂
Thanks Betsy. It is such a relief. So glad we don’t have to live in fear, but can just relax and speak without worry because he’s got this and is lovingly helping us.
I often have to add a P.S. to my prayers, too. 🙂 There’s so much we want to say to God. But yes, he knows it whether or not we verbalize it. God is such a good, good Father!
That he is, Lisa. And those P.S.’s keep us in touch with him throughout the day.