Good parents don’t wait until their kids ask for help to do good things for them, especially if they are going through a hard time. Whether it is a kid who didn’t make the team, had a friend leave them, or some other heartbreaking event that every kid goes through, parents want to help their kids get through those times. They want to make things better. Some parents get a gift, others take the family out for ice cream, but all good parents work to help their kids regardless if their kids ask for it.
The same is true of our heavenly Father. He is always “working all things for our good” (Rom 8:28), whether we ask him to in specific ways each day or not. No one can separate us from his love, regardless of whether we prayed that or not (Rom 8:39).
These truths are important to keep in mind as we start to pray our problems, plans, and bible passages. Because I’ve found that there have been times where I have started to believe the lie that “if I don’t ask for it, it won’t happen.” I know that sounds silly, but I’ve had it happen to me over and over again.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, occasionally my burden relieving prayer life turns into a burden producing prayer life. I begin to think that I have to give voice to the prayer, whether verbally or in my head, or God won’t do above and beyond all I can imagine or think. I’ve found myself wondering if God might punish me for not praying enough or for finding the right words at the right time. Without realizing it, every once in a while, my childlike prayer life turns into performance theatre—something Jesus said he’s not interested in.
In those moments, I have to remind myself that the Bible teaches that God’s work doesn’t depend on our words. That God doesn’t need great prayers to do great things. In those moments, when I get off track, I have to remember who I’m praying to matters way more than how well I’m praying—especially in the difficult times.
One of the first places I saw this in Scripture was in Psalm 5. At the very beginning of this Psalm, King David says, “Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray” (Ps 5:1).
Notice what David asks the Lord to consider. He says consider his “groaning” or “sighing.” David goes on to ask God to give attention to the “sound of my cry.” What does David want God to consider and give attention to? Not his perfectly formed prayers. No, he wants him to consider his wordless tears, deep breaths, the sounds that he makes in his difficult times.
David is not in a good situation. He isn’t happy about his life. Yet, he has a childlike impulse that leads him both to come to God for help and to interpret his wordless ways.
Then, David goes on to say, he’ll “watch.” He is expectant. He is hopeful. He believes God will do something with his situations even when he doesn’t know what to ask for.
Are you weighed down by something today?
You can “pray your problem” by simply “sighing” and “groaning” in God’s presence.
Remember, Jesus told his disciples that prayer doesn’t exist to inform God, it exists to engage us with the presence of God. As we’ve seen, Jesus says, “7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt 6:7-8).
Jesus let’s them know that their heavenly Father is already working on what is best for his children. Prayer isn’t about informing an uninformed God, it’s about engaging our unengaged hearts.Prayer is about changing our perspective so that we see the world like God does.
Some have used these words by Jesus as a reason not to pray. They think, “If God already knows, what’s the point?” But think about it. Jesus, the God-man, is the greatest teacher ever. He knows what he’s doing. He didn’t tell us this right before he taught us how to pray to destroy our motivation. Jesus wants this to convict and comfort us. He’s letting us know that this is a real relationship God’s using prayer to invite us into.
And God doesn’t just show us this reality here. It’s all over the Bible. The Psalms are filled with people “crying out” to God in prayer. We’re not told what exactly people are praying in many difficult situations. For instance, Hannah was childless and desperately wanted a child. Her prayer time was so filled with tears and emotions that a priest accused her of being drunk (1 Sam 1:12-14). The Apostle Paul talked to the Roman Christians about times when “we do not know what to pray” (Rom 8:26).
When you live life prayerfully in a broken world you will come across times where you can’t find the words. Charles Spurgeon was a pastor who knew great success and great difficulty. He walked with many people through the “valley of the shadow of death,” as a man of prayer. But he knew there were times when people couldn’t find the words. But after studying God’s word he wanted people to know that “groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”
So when you can’t find the words, remember, God is already working on what’s best for you.
This post includes content from my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.