"Flishadie"

Yesterday, in our Sunday morning Bible class, we were discussing Matthew 6.  When we came to verse 7 which reads, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words," I was reminded of a sort of babbling I did in prayer when I was very small.

I would pray the same prayer every night: "Now I lay me down to sleep.  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  Flishadie before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  Two things must be said about that prayer: 1) I repeated it, word for word, every night and 2) I had no idea what "flishadie" meant, I only knew I meant it.  On the surface, one could easily conclude that I was engaging in pagan-like babbling.

However, what made that not true was that fact that I absolutely meant every word and tried never to fail to come before the Father in prayer, alone, each night before going to sleep.  I wasn't doing it for show and it came from my heart.  The fact that my three and four year old mind didn't know that "flishadie" was an adulteration of "if I should die" had nothing to do with the purity of my heart and the sincerity of my prayer.

It is the heart, by the way, not the wording, that interests the Lord.  I believe that one word, offered insincerely, is equivalent to vain repetition.  Whereas, a single word cried out to the Lord over and over and over from a heart seeking Him is neither vain nor repetitious in His sight.  As Samuel was so plainly informed, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).

When one says, "I don't know how to pray," they are really saying, "I don't have a personal relationship with the Lord for prayer is nothing more or less than pouring your heart out to someone you love.  If you know how to talk to a friend, you know how to talk to God.  The words you choose are not nearly as relevant as the connection you have with your friend.  Friends can say things even without words.  A look, a smile, a laugh, a touch - all can communicate entire messagess to someone you know and love.  They look past what others may see and check the message of your heart.

So, don't worry about the structure, form or wording of your prayer - God will read you heart.  Simply come before Him with a sincere desire to communicate your heart to Him and begin to talk.  Not knowing what to say to begin, perhaps you might want to begin with the prayer Jesus offered as a template to build upon, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on eartth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Start there and continue sharing whatever is on your heart.  Even if the words come out wrong or don't come out at all, God can and will read the concerns of your heart.  He will hear you and know what you meant to communicate, even if you did not.  Jus' Say'n.