I’m not a super-spiritual prayer warrior who crafts elaborate and dynamic prayers. I haven’t discovered a secret formula of getting my prayers answered. In fact, some days I say to God, “I do not know how to pray about this.” I don’t want to demand something from God but at the same time, I don’t want to tiptoe around a Heavenly Father who is ready to act on my behalf. So, sometimes, when I don’t have words, I turn to other people’s prayers.
I’m not talking about “Now I lay me down to sleep…” or “God is great, God is good…”, I’m talking about well-worn, these have already been answered kinda prayers. Like David’s, “Create in me a clean heart, o God and renew a right spirit within me.” or “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your eyes, my rock and my redeemer!”
Aren’t those lovely? Such strong prayers! They encompass so much more than sometimes my mind can drum up. The days I’m feeling shameful for how I behaved, praying David’s prayer and asking for a clean heart reminds me that God can and will do this for me. If He forgave and loved David, the adulterer, surely He can give me a clean heart, too!
The times I feel grumpy, complaining and judgmental of my kids, my home or my situation, praying that my words and thoughts would be pleasing to my ROCK and my REDEEMER are powerful words that calm my mind and spirit.
Read more about those well-worn prayers at Million Praying Women…