Start Small
My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:7-11
Insight
Every big journey starts with a single step. We get that in lots of parts of our lives. But when it comes to prayer, we sometimes want everything to be perfect right away – even if we don't realize it. We want to be prayer pros before we've even given it a try.
Imagine thinking a regular person with no swimming experience could jump in a pool and do a perfect butterfly stroke. If I stopped writing this and tried to race Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky, I'd get left behind and probably look silly.
But here's the thing: Even great swimmers started small, learning basic moves like the doggie paddle. As they got better, they practiced different strokes, first the kick, then the arm movements. With time, they put it all together. They joined swim teams, spent tons of time in the pool, and got all wrinkled up fingers. Eventually, swimming became natural.
Our journey in prayer is a bit like that. We start small and gradually get better. Prayer is just talking with God about our worries. Hanging out with your best friend isn't hard or stressful. You don't need to plan every second or have fancy conversations.
But when we think about talking to God, we make it complicated. We stress about having the perfect words and avoiding silence. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and forget to just be with God.
As we get closer to Jesus, we need to learn about who He is. Being good at praying isn't about getting a medal or impressing people. We pray to connect with God and be useful to Him. If we want to hear from God, we need to have a strong heart.
Reflection
Think back over the past few weeks. How have you experienced communion with God? If so, under what circumstances did this occur? If you didn’t, why was this so? What distracted you from this connection?
Prayer
God, rather than being concerned with saying every word perfectly, may I reflect on my motive for seeking Your face in the first place. Help me to trust that You are in control. Assure me that You are listening. But, above all else, remind me that I am speaking to an audience of one who knows me like no other. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.