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“Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray Thee Lord, my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake
I pray Thee Lord, my soul to take
If I should live for other days
I pray Thee Lord, to guide my ways
Amen”
This was my first encounter with prayer. When I was a little girl, my aunt bought me a stuffed animal that had a recording of this prayer in it when you pressed its paw.
Every night I would hop into bed, tuck my head underneath my covers and whisper this prayer to God. God was not someone I really knew or even knew much about at the time, but I believed. I believed He existed, and I really enjoyed saying this prayer to Him each night.
Do you remember the first time you ever prayed to God? Was it with faith like a child? I sure hope so. Sometimes after being in church for a while Christians prayers can be overly eloquent and filled with tons of fancy language. But God sees all things and knows all things. We do not have to talk to Him with eloquent speech or cover up our heart, our hurts, questions, or disappointments when we come to talk to Him. He actually welcomes all of our concerns and longs to change our way of thinking, our hearts, and our circumstances.
Today, I want to encourage you to pray with the faith of a child. Just get real with God about everything. Do not be afraid or feel like you have to muster up the perfect words to talk to God. Your Heavenly Father longs for you to draw near to Him. He is not looking for you to have the right things to say, but for you to be open and real before Him.