¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually,

¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

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“I miss you Grandma to I wish we cud go up to your house”

This was the email I recently received from my six-year-old grandson. We have not seen each other in person since Labor Day weekend in September 2020. It is difficult to be apart, as most everyone reading this post knows in some way from 2020 experiences and restrictions that continue into 2021.

As a retired high school English teacher and reading specialist, the grammatical errors in my grandson’s email stand out to me like bold, enlarged print. Yet, these errors do not matter to me at all. The message is perfect, sincere, and heartfelt. It brought forth both tears and smiles when I read it.

Do we think about our communications with God, how they are spoken in our prayers and how they are received by Him? Jesus criticized the Pharisees who prayed elaborate prayers before others, for the human audience.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”    (Matthew 23:27-28)

Our prayers to God need to be heartfelt, not an appearance of humility and not perfect in elocution. Communication with God does not require the skill of “clearer and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation.” ¹ In our personal prayers, we must show our respect to our Father, our God. Yet, the communication should,  also,  be        intimate with Him, the Father, whom we know will hear us and respond to us. Such prayers can be “on the spot” in a walk, on a drive to work, while putting clothes in the washer. In those moments, we can rejoice, be thankful, and tell Him our heartaches and hopes. The early morning hour, mealtime, and/or bedtime prayers, on the other hand, can become routine or even ritualistic, if we are not more conscious of this time with Him.

The simple, sincere expression of love in my grandson’s email touched my heart. How do our words and how we speak them, whether aloud or in our thoughts, affect our Father when we pray? Are we reaching out to Him in a way that clearly shows we have a close relationship with Him? Do we want to spend time with Him, now and eternally?

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2)

. . . pray continually . . . (I Corinthians 5:17)

We want to be with you, Father, in your house forever.

One day. . .

Until then, we come to You in our prayers.

¹ Elocution. Definition from Google’s Dictionary-Oxford Languages. Google

(Sharon G. Tate blog 02/21/2021)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word