Praying From The Heart

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” - Luke 18:9-14

When you pray, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart. – Unknown

For me, it was difficult to learn to pray publicly.  Not that I didn’t want to pray; I just felt inadequate after hearing so many other people pray these long winded, eloquent prayers filled with scripture quotes or clever thoughts.  I felt that anything I said would sound stupid, or that praying would become about impressing others and not talking to God.  So, I remained silent in front of others, and only prayed privately where I’d open up to our Lord like I would an old friend.

Then one day, not that many years ago, I was sitting in a prayer meeting at church.  People were praying for all sorts of things like being able to expand the space for our small church whose congregation had not grown in some time, praying that we’d find someone to pay for and install better sound equipment, praying that the crime in Phoenix would subside, thanking God that we were such a close knit group that found joy in fellowship with each other, etc.

As each person said their beautifully worded prayers, a growing urge to pray out loud overtook me.  I fought that urge, just knowing I’d sound like an idiot.  After a while, a pressing thought came to me.  They’re praying for the wrong things.  We need to forget about these earthly requests; what we need to pray for is a revival in our homes, our churches, our city, our state, our country, and the world!  Still, I struggled with the urge, trying desperately to remain silent.  Eventually, everyone present, except me, had said a prayer but for some reason the meeting did not adjourn after the assistant pastor prayed a closing prayer.  We all just sat there in silence.

Much to my surprise, my mouth opened up and a prayer poured out as tears spilled from my eyes.  I had no idea where the words and deep emotions were coming from, but they were spilling forth and there was no stopping it.  I still don’t know everything I said; I just know that my heart felt great joy and relief as I gave in to the desire to pray.  I believe it was the Holy Spirit saying what I could not have put into words on my own.  It helped me to express what God had put in my heart.

After the meeting, everyone, and I mean everyone, came up to me saying things like how they had no idea I was such a powerful prayer warrior, how they wished they had thought to ask for the things I prayed for, and that they were humbled by how much I poured myself into that prayer.  I was rather embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond, other than telling them the truth… it must have been the Holy Spirit coming over me.

Since that day, I have realized that when I pray aloud, I don’t need to worry about how I sound;  I just need to let the Holy Spirit help me express what’s in my heart.  God’s not impressed with fancy words anyway, only people are.  He wants genuine, heartfelt prayers.  He wants a real relationship with us, both in private and in public.