In Matthew 6:7, when Jesus was teaching about prayer, he said, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.” Although some may have been taught to repeat their words when praying, almost as if they are performing a ritual, prayer is more than just simple repetitions. Jesus tells us in the following verse, Matthew 6:8, that God already knows what we need before we even ask Him. Jesus encourages us to bring our needs freely before God. We can say what is on our heart.

Since God already knows what we need before we even say anything, we can and should be completely honest with Him. Instead of treating prayer like a chore, we should treat prayer as a conversation. Our prayers do not need to be long and complicated; it can be as simple as just a few words. God desires our conversation with Him to be genuine and humble. When life gets hard and it becomes difficult to pray, that is when we should pray more fervently! At times, we may have trouble expressing our feelings and thoughts to God, which is where His ability to understand us without words comes in handy. Since we have the Holy Spirit living in us, it intercedes for us with groanings that only God can understand, and it is in perfect harmony with God (Romans 8:26-27). What a beautiful gift to be able to freely come to our Heavenly Father and share what is on our heart. He is always listening.

Suggested prayer: Lord, thank you for always hearing my prayers and for always understanding me when my thoughts are too deep for words. Thank you for already knowing what I need before I even tell you. Please help me to never get tired of praying and for me to pray even harder when it gets harder to pray. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

1. Matthew 6:8 (NLT).

Today’s Encounter was written by: Gianna B.