We all gathered around the kitchen before breakfast. “Time to say the prayer,” I told the little people around me.

With shouts of “I will!” from every direction, we let our oldest son say it first.

Then, the 2-year-old prayed. 

He closed his eyes, put his little hands together, and said the same prayer he says every time, “God and Jesus. Amen.”

We all opened our eyes, his little smile beckoning back at us because he was just so proud of himself, and we fixed our plates. 

I couldn’t help but think of my own prayer life. 

The intimate conversations between the Savior and me, they are often vulnerable and transparent. They are typically filled with the deepest cries of my heart and a longing in my soul that aches to be answered by a holy God. 

But sometimes, my prayers feel a lot like the 2-year-old’s.

The words just aren’t there. They don’t seem to flow naturally and the ones that do come out seem nothing more than repetitious. 

Do you ever deal with those feelings, friend?

Maybe you have a longing in your heart that just seems to be unnoticed by our God. 

Maybe the prayer you’ve prayed for so long feels hopeless.

Maybe you just feel distant from Him, and you’re trying to draw near, but the pain feels too deep.

Let me encourage you this morning, friend. Those seemingly desperate prayers are near to our Savior. 

He hears every single word, and He already knows the ones that just won’t seem to fall from your lips. 

Rest in Him today, friend. Let His all-knowing Spirit be your heart’s cry when the words are hard to find. 

Previously published on the author’s Facebook page