BE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD
Do you ever sit down with your journal?
You have your pen in hand. Suddenly you get stage fright.
You sit with that feeling of “what now?” You start to have conversations with yourself.
You want to pray. But you have no words. You want to connect with God. But you don’t know how.
Your mind is all over the place. It is heavy with a feeling you can’t quite name.
The prayers you think you’re “supposed” to pray are not happening. You want them to be full of scripture. You want them to be grateful. You want them to be profound.
But you are just not feeling it.
So you just don’t do anything. You close the journal. You feel a familiar, quiet guilt.
Who is the Audience?
I want to ask you a question.
Who were you performing for?
Our loving Father is not a critical audience. He is not waiting for a perfect, poetic performance.
He is a loving parent. He is simply longing for connection.
He already knows your heart. He knows your scattered thoughts. He knows your secret fears. He knows your messy, honest feelings.
And He loves that you showed up.
The Biblical Precedent for AN UNSCRIPTED Prayer
The Bible is filled with prayers that are not scripted.
Look at David’s psalms. They are raw. They are full of anger. They are full of despair. He asks, “How long, O Lord?”
Look at Jesus. In the garden, He was in such anguish. His sweat was like drops of blood.
Your honest confession of “I don’t even know what to say, God” is a perfect prayer.
Your journal is the safest place on earth to be this real.
yOUR pROMPTS
Prompts for Your Unscripted Prayers
Forget the script. Use these prompts to bring your real self to the page.
- The “One-Word” Prayer: “If I had to give God just ONE honest word for how I feel right now, what would it be? Am I tired? Am I angry? Am I confused? Am I grateful? Just write one word. That is a complete prayer.”
- The “Scribble” Prayer: “What is one feeling that is so big or tangled I don’t have words for it?” (Pick up your pen. Just scribble. Doodle. Let the motion be your prayer. Let the pressure on the page be your release. Give your page of feeling to Him.)
- The “List” Prayer: “God, my mind is all over the place. Here is my list.” (Write down the actual list in your head. The worry about family. The TV show. The bread you need to buy. The unread email. This is where you cast your cares.)
- The “Raw” Prayer: “The one thing I’ve been afraid to tell You is… It feels ‘wrong’ or ‘un-Christian’ to say, but…”
yOUR aCTION pLAN
Your Action Plan: The 3-Minute “Honest Heart”
You don’t need to “fix” your prayers. Your action is to be honest.
- Set a timer for three minutes.
- Open your journal.
- Write: “Dear God, what is really on my heart right now is…”
- Do not edit. Do not filter. Do not judge. Just write.
- Finish. When the timer goes off, simply write “Amen.”
You have just prayed. You did it beautifully. You did it perfectly.
With grace, Debbera
