And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
 I John 5:14 ESV

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of laughing. Receiving good doses of joy in a clean, wholesome way is a huge part of my life. Therefore, I follow a lot of Christian humor accounts on Instagram. There’s one viral video that gets me every time: a gentle-hearted pastor who starts off his normal Sunday morning sermon by addressing his congregation like this:

“Let us pray. Heavenly farts, I mean. . .(quickly catches himself). . . Heavenly Father, we come before You today. . .”

Bless his heart, that pastor did not intend to get so tongue-tied. But that innocent mistake has given millions of people around the world a good elementary-school-style chuckle.

Maybe praying out loud causes you to freeze up. If finding the confidence to speak to God verbally is something you struggle with, let me encourage you with this: God never cringes when you pray!

Think about it this way. When a toddler speaks lovingly toward you, even if they get their words slightly mixed up, does it make you cringe? No! The same goes for your heavenly Father. As today’s verse reminds us, we can be confident that if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us—even if we stumble over our words a little bit.

If praying is still awkward for you, though, try using the P.A.R.T. method:

Praise. Give God glory for who He is and what He’s done in your life.

Admit. Apologize for the things that are not pleasing to Him.

Request. Ask for forgiveness, for Him to provide, for Him to reveal Himself to you.

Thank. Verbalize your gratitude for all He has done and will do in the future.

Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, gives us a beautiful example of this as well. Remember, prayer is simply a conversation with Jesus—kind of like one you’d have with your bestie. All He wants is a relationship with you, and relationships form through talking to each other. Speak to Him, and let Him speak to you!

God, I desire to pray confidently. Remove my fear of what others think. Let me praise You, admit things to You, request things of You, and thank You with my whole heart. Amen

 

This is an excerpt from A Confidence That Changes Everything: Devotions to Shine Bright in This Topsy-Turvy Life, the new book by Hannah Crews!