“Who wants to pray?” Everyone trembles in their seat.
What will people think of my prayer?
Will they think I’m too stiff? Or maybe too conversational? What if I say something stupid?
The speaker looks at you, their eyes just as big as yours. “How about you? Would you be willing to pray for us?”
And that’s when the whiskers come.
You know, those nifty “holy” phrases that you pop into a prayer when you don’t know what else to say. It’s time to say bye to those and get back to just plain old having a conversation with God.
Ready to trim some whiskers? Let’s go!
1. Repeating “Father/Lord”
Example: Dear Father, I pray, Lord, that you would be with Anna, Father. God, we need your help in this situation because, Father . . .
Why it needs a trim: As one speaker at my school eloquently put it, if you’re talking to your friend, you don’t keep repeating their name. They just do that in low-quality novels or movies and it’s just awkward. God knows you’re talking to Him. Believe me.
2. “Give them the grace/comfort/peace to . . .”
Example: God, I pray that you be with Stephanie and her sister. I just pray that, uh, you . . . you give them the grace to get through this.
Why it needs a trim: This sounds pretty good in and of itself . . . but it needs to be done with purpose. It’s easy to just throw in a good old-fashioned “give them the grace to” when you don’t know what else to say. It ends up being meaningless.
Give it some highlights: Try being more specific. If they need to make a hard decision, ask for God to give them wisdom and open/close the doors as He sees fit. Depending on the situation, you could ask God to give them stamina/endurance, hope, His presence, a listening ear, etc. For bonus points, you could even see about being that nondescript grace/comfort/peace by providing a listening ear, a casserole, or just letting them know you’re praying on them.
3. “Thank you for this day.”
Example: Dear God, Thank you for this day.
Why it needs a trim: Yo, this is what we say when we’ve been tasked with praying and we weren’t expecting it. We need more time so we slowly say “thank you for this day” as we wrack our brains for our next sentence. It’s totally fine to say this if you’re overly grateful for the day today, but don’t let it be a meaningless whisker!
Give it a brush: Try thanking God for other things . . . besides the day. You could thank Him for some of His characteristics you’re particularly grateful for, or aspects of your life like your family.
4. “Please forgive me for anything I’ve done.”
Example: God, I just pray that you forgive me for anything I’ve done since . . well, since I last asked for your forgiveness.
Why it needs a trim: Most of us won’t do this in a group setting, so this is something we’d do more in a hurried, personal prayer. Sometimes it’s just hard to remember when you last prayed and what you’ve done between then and now, but you need the forgiveness.
My “thank you for this day” whisker needs some trimming…😬I say it out of habit now and I should definitely trim it and let another (legit) “thank you” whisker take over!!
I STILL do that, especially when someone asks me to pray and I didn’t expect it, haha. It’s a good cover for me as I try to think of something actually substantial.