I wasn’t sure God would listen. My thoughts and prayers have been so scattered lately. Honestly, I’ve felt like a child who’s unable to stay focused long enough to pray as I thought God wanted me to.
Between health issues and impending surgery for my husband, writing deadlines, and a ninety-nine-year-old momma who requires my attention, I’ve felt lost. My prayers haven’t been haughty. They’ve been messy, unfocused. And when I can’t focus, I don’t feel present. If I can’t be present, I’m no better than those who throw meaningless prayers around to look important. If my prayers are scattered, my thoughts running amok, why would God pay attention? Would He even listen?
When Jesus spoke in His Sermon on the Mount, He took great pains to teach those who listened how to pray (Matthew 6:6). His example was concise, straightforward, and truthful. But it was what Jesus followed that prayer with that added a teaching punch. When you pray, go into your room and shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. We know His intent here was about praying for show, but there was more. In one sentence, Jesus told us that our prayers mattered. The world doesn’t need to hear or know our private prayers. Pray to your Father in secret, where only He hears, where only He knows. The implication Jesus placed on this sentence proves that all our prayers are valuable. God knows our hearts, even when our thoughts are scattered. Those messy, unfocused thoughts do matter because God sees past the muck. I couldn’t fairly compare my unfocused prayers to those Jesus spoke of.
Rather than belittling myself when my mind wanders, I’ve decided to follow the rabbit trail. That trail may be what God wants me to pray about. Remember, He knows us. We spend so much time trying to be perfect in our prayer life we forget that being present, moving in tandem with the Holy Spirit, is where God wants us, a place of vulnerability and a willingness to listen—a moment when God can speak to us and only us, messy or not, and in the privacy of our presence with Him.
When your mind wanders as you pray, trust that God is standing, hand cupped around His ear, listening. Trust He knows every inch and every thought you bear, and He wants to hear you. Scattered or not.
Cindy K. Sproles is a best-selling, award-winning author. She is a speaker and a conference teacher who teaches nationwide. Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries, www.christiandevotions.us, and www.inspireafire.com. She serves as a writing mentor with WRAMS (Writing Write Author Mentoring Service) and is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.