What Is A Prayer

What is a prayer? Is it a fancy phrase of words strung together, or words plain, spoken from the heart?

I have heard people say they don’t know how to pray. To this I say, yes, you do. A prayer is nothing more than a conversation. Historians and poets have strung flowery prose together over the centuries and provided us with some prayerful beauties to God, but that doesn’t mean this is how we each must pray. What matters is the conversation and the intent.

The fact that you speak to God is the most important thing. This is what draws and binds our relationship tighter. Even in our sorrow, when words of anger may slip from our tongue, He understands. Remember, He too lost His son to the cross and had to look down as His very own people crucified a part of Him. Fortunately, for us there was a bigger plan, a gift in the last true sacrifice of man.

When we speak with purpose and intent, we ask God for what we need instead of what we want. Wants and needs are very different. Our wants are nice to have things, needs are born from necessity. I need food and drink, but I want a nice meal. The two are different. My food may not come in a meal the way I might want it to, but it is given to fulfil the hunger and thirst. It is the same with everything.

Does this mean I can’t ask for the things I want? No. It means we must understand when God determines the things we want might not be what’s best for us in that moment. A fast food meal full of grease does not serve an arterial clogged heart. We may not see the risk, but He does. Giving us what we ask may do us more harm than good, even though we can’t see it.

So, do you then stop talking? No. Prayer is an ongoing conversation. It is a seeking to draw closer, a whisper from the soul to its creator, and an offering of gratitude from a thankful heart.

Prayer cannot always be us asking for what we want. It is not meant to be a self-serving act. We must see all the blessings we can and be thankful for them. Gratitude, for those blessings we don’t see, should also be offered; for the miracles that happen around us without us even knowing.

As a parent, you want to hear your child verbalize what they want and need, but you also want to hear them tell you that they appreciate what you do and are thankful. The best moment is when they wrap their arms around you and say, “I love you.” It is no different for God. He knows all these things, yes, but He too wants us to be thankful and to tell Him not just that we care, but that we love Him.

This is a prayer I wrote as a poem, in the way that poets sometimes do.

Oh, then sings my soul in praise to thee,
that I could love as fully as you.
Forgive my failings, Father most high,
let me find grace in all that I do.

Turn not from me, when I should fail,
nor hide your face from me;
but let me walk in Spirit’s light,
oh, let me walk with thee.

Let all who see me, see your love,
let loves light shine from me;
so when they look upon my face,
it’s you, not I they see.

Thank you, oh my loving Lord,
for all you’ve done each day;
ever rest in my heart,
forever bound, let us stay.

I share this poem only as an example of what I’m trying to say. It is poetic whispering from my soul to God, but it is no less than the following prayer I say often.

Thank you, Father, for this day, and all you’ve done for me. Forgive me my mistakes, my laziness and willfulness. Please watch over all I love. I trust you with their care. Let us find a way to bring peace to this world. Let me be a light in someone’s darkness. Let your will, not mine, be done.

This prayer is no different. One is not better than the other. They are both said with intent and purpose. Both are conversations with God. It doesn’t matter how you form the words, nor when you say them each day. All that matters is that you do.

When I wake up, I always try to offer a thankful prayer, for rising to a new day, for the chance to begin anew. I ask God to help me see Him in all things and all situations as I go about my day. When I go to bed, I recap my day, and pray again. Throughout my day, I quietly thank God for things I notice, for help when I struggle, or for forgiveness when I feel I have failed.

So, what is a prayer? It is a conversation between you and God, between you and our saviour, between you and His mother, Mary. Each conversation is different, yet they are prayers, each in their own way. It doesn’t matter how, it just matters that you do it with an open heart. Talk to Him. He is always there, listening, waiting for you to reach out.

May you walk in His grace, today and always. Amen.