When You Pray, Just Speak!

My thoughts are swirling this week. There have been so many distractions that it has been hard to concentrate. I found myself seeking out a place of solace to go to and have a moment with God. When I would finally get the moment, all I wanted to do was sit in peace. Have you been there? I knew I needed to pray, but I was at a loss as to what to say. Yet, all God wanted me to do was just speak!

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:6 King James Version

Do you make prayer time difficult?

I ask this question because I have heard from so many throughout the years that they just don’t know what to say, where to begin, or are afraid they will say something wrong or offensive to the Lord. For those of you who are seasoned in prayer, you may not understand this. However, for those who are new to prayer, it seems to be a huge issue. 

I can remember growing up and hearing my parents pray. It could be in the middle of the night, and one of my parents was in the living room praying. I remember lying there, wondering who was in trouble or in need. I knew my parents were going to the throne room for answers. It gave me peace, and I would always fall back asleep. The thing is, even after hearing them pray, I had to learn to pray on my own. When I would get down to pray for myself, I would find myself at a loss as to how to begin or what to say. I mean, my parents weren’t just saying, “Our Father, who art in Heaven,” they were in some intense prayer with God. So you can imagine how I would feel. I felt intimidated. 

How do you pray?

In Matthew 6, where I took my main Scripture, verses 9–13 are God’s guidelines for prayer. It’s simple enough. I have heard it broken down in several ways, yet here are my thoughts:

1. Thanksgiving and Praise (Hallowed be Thy Name)
2. Asking for God’s will in your life (Thy will be done)
3. Praying for your needs (Give us this day our daily bread)
4. Repentance (Forgive us our debts)
5. Help in forgiving others (As we forgive our debtors)
6. Once again, ask God to guide our paths and keep us from sin (Deliver us from evil)
7. Finish with Thanksgiving and Praise (For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever)

It seems easy enough, right? Yet, we continue to overcomplicate it by saying we still don’t know exactly what to say.

Just speak!

Remember, Jesus is your best friend! He is the one that you can go to whenever you are facing any situation. He is the one who has given us life! Just as you go to your best friend and spill your guts, perse, it is the same with Him. Just speak. Tell Him everything. There is no judgment coming from Him.  He just wants you to speak to Him. 

Recently, my husband was suffering with his C-Pap machine. It was starting to act up and not work properly. During this time, he was in the middle of college and pastoring. He was losing a lot of sleep. It was affecting his physical and mental health. He had gone through something very similar around five years ago. At that time, we were fighting a huge spiritual battle. There were so many sleepless nights for both of us. We fought through prayer. I knew that if that was what was going on this time around, I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

I cannot tell you what night it was, but I will tell you that I was tired of both of us losing sleep. I got up, went to the living room, and began to pray. I didn’t overthink what I wanted to say. I didn’t worry about offending God. I went to Him and told Him my needs. I can remember sitting there and telling God that whatever was going on, I knew He could control it. I told Him that I needed sleep and peace of mind. God and I had an intense moment of me being very specific. I reminded Him that He is the creator of all things. He created man. He gave man the ability to create the machine that helped my husband sleep. That meant that He could fix the machine Himself.

“If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:14, KJV

I spoke, and I expected Him to answer!

He did! I went back to bed with the peace that God heard every word I said and didn’t have any issue with the presentation of my prayer. I did what He said in His Word; I asked! My husband had the best night of sleep he had in several months. Following that night, he continued to sleep well. 

When you speak, He will listen. So just speak!

I cannot say that enough. That is really all it takes. There is no special prayer that you have to pray. God just wants you to come to Him and commune with Him. He loves your company. During those times of prayer, tell Him everything. Let Him take care of all of your worries and fears. Give Him everything. You are His creation, and He loves you!

I can guarantee you something: when you learn to just speak during your prayer time, you will find yourself going to search out that closet of prayer. You will begin to look forward to those times with just you and the Lord. You will find yourself wanting more and more of God and less of the world. Living for God will become a priority in your life.

Don’t forget to listen!

Speaking and telling God how much you love Him and letting Him know the things you need are important. However, the most vital part of prayer is stopping and listening. So be sure that when you are finished speaking, you spend time listening to the voice of the Lord. Don’t be selfish and think it’s all about you and your needs. Communication goes both ways. God has things He wants to tell you. 

I hope this post has helped you in some way today. I would love to hear some testimonies from you on how you “just spoke” to the Lord, and He answered your prayers. Be sure to share this with someone else who could use a little encouragement in their prayer life.

Remember, I’m praying for you, even if I don’t know who you are!

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