When You Pray...

And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. —Matthew 6:7

Jesus knew the power of a short, simple prayer and spoke the words of today's Scripture when He taught on prayer during the Sermon on the Mount.

At times we are led by the Holy Spirit to pray for long periods of time, but it is the sincerity of our prayers that is important, not their length. If God always wanted our prayers to be long and drawn out, I really believe He would have put only long, drawn-out prayers throughout the Bible.

Many of the examples of prayer in Scripture are short and concise. The enemy is the one who tells us that our prayers are never long enough. It is fine with God for us to pray using only a few words.

In fact, all the way through the Bible are some incredibly brief, but awesomely powerful prayers, just a few of which are listed below.

• Moses cried out for his sister: "Please heal her, O God, I pray!" (Num. 12:13 NKJV).
• The Psalmist pleaded: "Have mercy and be gracious unto me, O Lord, for I am in trouble" (Ps. 31:9).
• Elijah prayed: "O Lord my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him" (1 Kings 17:21 NKJV).
• Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34 NKJV).

Love God Today: Remember what Jesus said: "…Do not heap up phrases…" Short prayers are powerful!

Joyce Meyer