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Today I had a revelation in my prayer time.

 

I kept drifting off topic.
Roaming around my invisible prayer list and touching each person or need like a toddler playing with toys strewn across the floor.
And moving from praying to just thinking!
Forgetting altogether that I was having a conversation with God about these people and these needs.

Then Satan chimed in, “You’re terrible at prayer.  You don’t love your family enough to even pray for them consistently!”

I remembered my two great grandsons as they played in Judah’s bedroom.
Turning over trucks and blocks in their chubby hands for a few moments before discovering another well loved toy and giving it some of their attention.

OH NO—I pray like a toddler!
I joined Satan in his rant.
I fed him ammo, more fiery darts, more accusations to hurl.

 

 But what does God think about my prayers?

 

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:6

 

God listens to my prayers with love not condemnation and criticism.

Toddlers have short attention spans and we love them anyway.
We happily listen as they try to communicate.
We take video and make our long suffering friends  listen to their stumbling bumbling sentences.
We proudly post it on Facebook.

 

We’ve been invited to pray and the only requirements are that we ask in faith and not for selfish purposes.  (Jas. 1:5, 4:3)

If we ramble, God is patient.
If we get distracted, He waits.
If we fumble, the Spirit helps us out. (Rom. 8:26)

Abba is the Aramaic word for God as Father.  

It’s an intimate family word.  The closest thing we have is Daddy.
I am His child.
I’ll always be His child.

God listens to us with a sympathetic Daddy-like love.
The very last thing He wants is for us to give up because we know we don’t ‘sound’ very spiritually organized in our prayers.

I started off this morning praying this one thought for our grown kids,

. . .asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. . .
Colossians 1:9

I’m praying that prayer all day today.

In the car, at the doctor’s office, and peeling carrots.
I might get interrupted by the phone, or my husband.
My thoughts will drift, but my heavenly Father, my Abba, won’t miss a word.

He never tunes us out.
We have His promise on that.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
1 Peter 3:12

 

Have you ever felt inept at prayer?
Maybe you are.  I have been.  I think we all probably are sometimes.

God can handle it 😉
The thing is to not let our enemy use it.  Because he’ll try.

The apostle Paul said he wasn’t ignorant of Satan’s devices. (2 Cor. 2:11)
If he can discourage us because we’ve focused on our inconsistency, our lack of skill, or our unworthiness—really anything that relates to our performance, then he has kept us from enjoying the access we have, the relationship to God we’ve been given—in Christ.

If he can keep us from praying then his strategy has succeeded.

 

God’s eyes are on us.
His ear is open to us.

What’s on your heart to share with your Abba today?