Just Start The Conversation

A while back, I heard a story about a biologist whose prayer life was thriving.

It hadn’t started this way though. He mentioned having struggled for a while to find a way of praying consistently that worked for him. Then one day it hit him - what if he simply prayed for each body part one at a time. I mean, there’s a lot of material there! He even worked his way through each body system and said his prayer life came alive because it felt wonderfully endless in possibility.

Another thing he mentioned was, that while it felt silly at first to pray for his toes, finger nails, and other parts, what started to happen was God began to fill in the blanks. While his prayers started with simply being thankful for his lungs, arms, and brain, God met him where he was at and picked up the conversation in just the way he needed.

His story reminds me of Romans 8:26 where it says,

“...If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He [God] does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans…”

- Romans 8:26 (MSG)

I don’t know about you but this verse feels like a relief to me.

While I love exploring prayer, it can sometimes feel daunting to figure out what to say, or even where to start. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m rarely at a loss for words… but for some reason, when it comes to talking to God on a consistent basis, I can get a little hung up or even overthink things. You know what I mean?

So, with the story of this biologist in mind, I tried his approach. I began thanking God for my toes, my feet, ankles, legs… right on up to my head.

Buuuuuut!

The challenge is - I’m not a biologist. Far from it actually. I barely made it through high school biology so what seemed like endless possibilities to this guy was a very short list to me. I mean, we have over 200 bones in our adult bodies, but the ones I could come up with in my head totaled like 20, tops.

Yikes.

But here’s what God continues to remind me of as I attempt to further develop my conversations with Him one day at a time:

I’m me.

I’m not that biologist, so I don’t have the same intimate knowledge of the body. Me trying to pray his way only distracts me, sitting in wonder about what else I can or can’t name. Doh!

Instead, as I show up honestly in prayer (even when I’m tired or not sure what to pray), God has shown me again and again how to pray in my own way.

Where I’m at most days is exactly where He meets me. I just need to open the conversation.

Many times throughout the day you can find me praying gratefully over each dish I wash, each piece of clothing I fold, and each moment I’m in the car dashing from one work event, to a kid’s playdate, to a sports activity, to the next.

The best part is that God is right there in my own “wordless sighs” and “aching groans.”

I don’t have to know all of the parts of the body or even feel like an expert prayer warrior of any sort. I simply need to start right where I’m at. Each day.

And I can promise you that when you take this same individual approach to your conversations with God, your prayer life and relationship with Him will come alive more than ever.

I pray you get to meet God right where you’re at today because, remember, even when you don’t know how or what to pray, God’s got you. All He wants is for you to go first and start the conversation.

Kyle Moss

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