Lisa Whittle - 5-Word Prayers: Where to Start When You Dont Know What to Say to God

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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5-WORD PRAYERS

Copyright 2017 Lisa Whittle

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-7071-6 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-7072-3 (eBook)

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To my beloved papa, Crules Rosamore Cheek

a humble, quiet man who fed me apricots when I was little and came to visit and led us in this simple prayer before the meal: Bless the Lord, O my souland all that is within me bless his holy name.

I still remember that.

CONTENTS

I t all started with the best of intentions.

I am looking for the perfect prayer book for myself, having been recently convicted that I need more of it in my life. Ive been in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ since I was six years old, but as it turns out, my prayer life through the years has suffered from numbing daily normalcy and piling to-do lists. More often than I would like to admit, my time meeting with God has hinged upon my level of current crises rather than the pull of the heart. The logical conclusion is that I need a prayer book to help kick my prayer life into overdrive.

I find the perfect one, and on the day it arrives in my mailbox, I rip open the brown padded envelope, sit with my coffee, and begin to read. Introduction, chapter one, chapter twoI digest it all. Fifty-six pages in and I remain hopeful, but I can feel the excitement for a new read beginning to wane as another feeling is silently taking over: overwhelmed. I know this feeling well, as it is something Ive felt many times as a grown woman, and never is it welcomed. I also know better than to throw the towel in on a book so early, but I am gnawed by the feeling of being not enough . I worry that the prayer life I so desperately want isnt reachable, because this particular books formula is not something I will actually do. Yes, I sit with my coffee and I read an inspirational book, but I am not inspired or comforted, not convinced or strengthened or personally understood. Instead, I am bogged down by lists and 1-2-3s and do it this way so your prayers will reach heaven. I close the book and never pick it up again.

That night, as I lay my head on my pillow in the cover of dark, I feel defeated. My prayer life will never be what I want it to be, I tell myself. I am never going to be a champion prayer warrior, the kind who can influence heaven to get things done. I am never going to have the kind of connection with God I want because I am not disciplined enough to follow the right formula. The really spiritual people will do that. I must face the fact that I am not spiritual enough, and I need to settle for the prayer life I have, small as it is. Even if I dont follow the perfect prayer book, I trust that God will still love me.

The trouble is, I have hard things going on in my life at the moment. I believe in the power of prayer. I understand that the spiritual battle of good and evil is fought on my knees as I come to God with earnest requestswhich is why I went looking for the perfect prayer book to help me with a perfect prayer strategy. It just didnt help me at all. It overwhelmed me and left me more hesitant than ever to pray in the dark of night, on a night I so desperately need to do just that. If I cant pray well, maybe I should just roll over and go to sleep, I begin to think.

But I need God. If I close my eyes, the heartaches will only meet me again in the morning. So I pray the only five words I can muster: I love you, Jesus. Help. As quiet tears come down my face, something unexpected and sweet happens: I feel the presence of God in a powerful way. He feels near, nearer to me than I have felt in a very long time. I have prayed only five words, but it is as if I have moved heaven. God has responded to me. He didnt need me to follow a formula or list to bend His ear to listen to the burden of my heart. My cry for help was tenderly heard, and I can sense it.

I have thought about this night and the power of that five-word prayer many times since. Its not that prayers require only five words, of course, or any other magical number. What matters is the heart, not a certain formula or list. Jesus isnt interested in the spectacular, for the most dazzling prayer without soul is but a vapid wind. Through this sweet night with Jesus, my heart has been realigned with the truth about prayer and the importance of my faithfulness to it rather than my dependence on human tactics to impress Him or try to manipulate a certain response. Im just to come to Him in humility and weakness, thank Him, love Him, andyesask Him for the needs and desires of my heart. Even as I write these words to you, I find myself profoundly grateful for this stunning truth: Prayer is not about word count, but about heart intent.

More than ever, I believe in the beauty behind five-word prayers. I wrote this devotional book for you because I know that sometimes it can be hard to get started talking with God. You may be where I waswanting to improve your prayer life and fearing you cant. Maybe youve read all the prayer books and feel disappointed because you havent been as successful as youve wanted. Maybe you havent been able to stick with the suggested formulas.

Perhaps I can encourage you with a few reasons I believe short prayers can still be quite powerful and why praying these brief five-word prayers may be a wonderful place for you to start in your prayer life.

First, Jesus often prayed short prayers. Not all of Jesuss prayers were recorded in Scripture, but many of the ones that were are short. Even what is often called the Lords Prayer, the prayer Jesus gave to His disciples as the model of how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, is brief: