2524) I can remember as a child sitting with my family in church. When it came time for the pastor to pray before the sermon, it seemed to me that it went on and on, forever in a child’s ears.

Sometimes we can have the wrong idea about how God wants us to pray. Should they be long, drawn-out prayers? Should we sound as godly as we can? Should we only follow a specific prayer found in the Bible?

The answer to these questions can be sometimes. I can have a long prayer or conversation with God. No, we don’t have to sound godly. Yes, we can use prayers in the Bible as a pattern or template for our prayers, but that’s not necessary. There is another way to pray, and it’s found in Matthew 6:7.

Here, in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says many things about prayer, but I want to focus on one point. This verse reads, and when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. (ESV)

Sometimes the best prayers we offer are brutally honest and short. Help me, Lord. I’m drowning, Lord. I can’t do this, Lord. It isn’t necessary to follow specific patterns. God relishes prayers that are honest and from the heart.

This is a good reminder for me. My conversations with God should come from my heart, and I need not worry if they are the “right” way to pray.