I was up early trying to pray this morning. I say trying, because I was uneasy about something with one of my kids, and I wasn’t entirely sure what it was.
So I paused and did some test-runs. Lord, help her see ... No, that wasn’t it. Father, give her the courage … That wasn’t it, either. Trying to uncover my concern was like mining for silver, chopping slowly through rock in search of a seam. It was work.
But I want to offer God what is precious to me, and it wouldn’t have been right to dump a truckload of rubble at His feet and expect Him to sift through it. I needed to sort through my thoughts and feelings first.
There are times when “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). Most days, however, that’s not the case. We can articulate our needs, but it takes effort. And sometimes (dare I say it?) we get a bit lazy. We send up a “Take my worry away” instead of taking the time to figure out exactly what we’re worried about, naming our fears, and doing what we can do to move past them. We don’t always contribute our share of the labor.
But we should. Our prayers only get better—and our devotion deeper—when we pause to check that what we’re offering our Lord is what’s truly on our hearts.
