“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I grew up in a church where people prayed a lot. Every time any group of us got together, praying was involved. I learned to pray at a young age. Even so, it always seemed a little mystifying. Would God really hear me and care about the random things I would talk about? The Bible says yes.

My husband grew up in a church where praying didn’t happen all the time — at least not by the “regular” people. The priest did all the praying and even he had to use special words in Latin to make it count.

In today’s verses, Jesus stresses that prayer isn’t complicated. It’s simple with simple words. It’s a conversation between God and me. I can use the same words I would use when talking with anyone. All that matters is THAT I pray, and that when I pray, I honor God first and be honest about the rest.

When my husband and I first started dating, I asked him to pray with me, but he was at a loss. So I did the praying. I made my prayers simple and short when I prayed with him. I thanked God for who He was then talked briefly about some nitty-gritty issues in our lives. The end. Amen.

I think prayer gets a bad rap. We really over-complicate it ensuring that it doesn’t happen at all. Jesus tries to change all that. He tells His disciples that prayer doesn’t have to be long or fancy or done only while kneeling with your eyes closed and your head bowed. There are no magic words to make God tune in. He’s always listening because He is always here, and, most importantly, He always loves me.

Dear God,

Thank you for prayer. Thank you for listening to me no matter how eloquent or clumsy my words. I’m so grateful for the beautiful gift of your listening ear. Remind me to take advantage of it during every spare moment whether it is peaceful or hectic, whether I am happy or stressed out or angry or sad or ashamed or proud. I believe you care.