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But I don’t think God is impressed. In fact, I was reading my Bible this morning for the first time in several months (that’s another story in itself – judge not), and I opened up to Jesus words about prayer. He said that when we pray, we shouldn’t get all wordy and feel obligated to pray for a long time. He said only religious frauds do that. In fact, he said we should just keep it simple. Like this:
Daddy in heaven, you’re pretty great.
Please help this world today to run the way you’d choose. Help it be a little more like your world.
Give me what I need today, and keep me safe and out of trouble.
Help me treat people like you would treat me.
Because its your world, and only you have what it takes to change it.
Amen.
Last night I laid in bed and tried to pray. The problem with that is I usually drift off to sleep. But it was different last night. I genuinely wanted to talk to God. So I started to pray in my usual Pavlovian way: “Dearest Heavenly Father, I pray that you would bestow your bountiful blessings on me this day - that thou wouldst provide continual inspiration to pen songs and bless those around me with the gifts you have so graciously afforded me…”
Okay, I embellished a little there. My prayers aren’t quite that medieval. Still, I think King James would be quite proud. But as I prayed, I suddenly felt this horrible pressure to change my tone to that of a sad puppy. Like I was going to show God how meek and pious I was, with a hint of reverence, from the posture of a victim. I was conscious of it, so I stopped praying, and, conversely, simply waited for what God might want to say to me instead. Something within me brought to light this question: Do you talk to your real dad like that? Is that language you would use to address a friend?
That’s all I needed to hear. I changed my tone immediately. The pressure was off. I said, “God, I’m a little depressed that I haven’t been writing much lately. Actually, I’m a lot depressed. Will you please help me? I have a feeling it has something to do with the fact that I’ve been so distant lately. I’ve been ignoring you. I’ve pushed away from good teachers. Sorry for that. Can you help me with that attitude? Can you help me want to talk to you? I hope so. I don’t like where I’ve been.”
And here I am today with something to write about. That’s the cool thing about God. Our little efforts to get close to him pay off. And the experience ends up being one we want to tell others about.