I am writing this on Thanksgiving Day. It wasn’t my intent, but sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we expect. Heck, does life ever work out the way we expect?
Thanksgiving is a time to be with family and friends. We gather with our loved ones around meals and share reflections on the highlights & lowlights of the past year. We also re-live cherished childhood memories. We laugh. We cry. And on this day, we especially give thanks.
So, as I found myself with waaaaaay too much time on my hands in an empty, quiet house (we re-scheduled the family Thanksgiving dinner to Saturday), I began to wonder why I/we don’t give thanks every day for what God has provided or in some cases has not provided.
It’s easy for us to pray simple, child-like “thank you prayers”, almost too easy I’d say, without much thought; but is that really giving thanks or are we simply rattling off the first things that come into our minds so we can tell ourselves we “talked with God today”?
Does intent matter?
Does preparation matter?
Now, I’m about the farthest thing from an expert on this matter as one could possibly be, and I also don’t really know what The Bible says about prayer, so I’m hoping one of my readers can help me figure this “prayer thing” out or at least maybe point me in the right direction!
Here’s what I think I know…
Prayer is a way to let God know our needs, wants and desires.
Prayer is our way to ask for forgiveness.
Prayer is a way to thank God for what he has given us and for what he is going to bless us with in the future.
Prayer is a way to praise our Creator.
Prayer is a “whole bunch” of things. Isn’t it?
But what prayer mostly is, is our way to talk to our Father in heaven. And why would I not want to converse with Him daily? We talk to our friends and family every day (unless we’re unhappy with them), so why would simply talking to God daily be any different?
It shouldn’t be!
What keeps popping into my head is something my mom told me when I was a child and “learning” how to pray…
“God understands everything you say and any words you use. Big, fancy words don’t impress Him. Small words don’t make Him think less of you. There is no, single correct way to pray. Just use your own words and tell Him what’s in your heart. He can handle anything you throw at Him.”
“He can handle ANYTHING you throw at Him!” Think about that for a second…How powerful are those words?
NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR GOD!! NOTHING!!
So, I’m going to go with what “mom says” about prayer. It’s simple, short and to the point. Prayer is not about the words you use or how you say it. Prayer is about what is in your heart.
What’s in your heart today that God needs to hear?
Remember, nothing is too big (or too small) for God! Nothing!
Tell Him.
Tell Him now.
Dan’s View 