Pray Without Perfection

Genesis 24:12-14, 45

“12 Then he prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

“45 Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

We often picture the great men of Israel standing on a rock, praying in old English (corny) and sounding wonderfully eloquent. But the truth is a little different. Remember Moses, the guy who led the Israelites out of Egypt? He had a speech issue. So much so that when the Lord told him to go to Egypt and free the Israelites, he brought up his speech problem multiple times. It was a huge concern for him, to the point where he thought he couldn’t fulfill God’s calling because of it. Can you imagine this guy praying out loud in old English, sounding eloquent? I think not.

We tend to see prayer the same way. We think it has to be out loud and sound impressive all the time. Sure, some people are gifted orators who can make the phone book sound interesting—that’s great for them—but that’s not me. Maybe you can relate. You know, the ones who pray only in headlines: “Lord, help us have a great night’s rest. Amen.” Or, “Lord, be with my kids today and keep them out of trouble. Amen.”

My wife, on the other hand, is a fine-print prayer. When she prays, she starts with your shoes, and 30 minutes later, she’s worked her way up to your belt. If she’s not pressed for time, I swear I can see the plants growing. Funny, I know, but we all pray differently. The important thing is simply to pray.

In our passage, Abraham’s servant prayed before beginning his quest to find a wife for Isaac. We assume he prayed out loud in verses 12–14, but later, when recounting the story to Laban and his father, he reveals that his prayer was in his heart. That resonates with me. My silent prayers tend to be full of detail, the fine print, but when I pray out loud, it’s usually just the headlines. Like Joe Friday from Dragnet would say: “Just the facts, ma’am.”

The Lord hears both kinds of prayers—both the facts and the fine print. We don’t have to be Moses (played by Charlton Heston), bellowing out a prayer from the top of a mountain, to be heard by God. And we don’t have to be great orators to lead a prayer either. Silent prayers are just as heard as spoken ones.

So today, pray! Out loud or silent, with headlines or fine print—both work. John 10:27 says, “My sheep respond as they hear My voice; I know them intimately, and they follow Me.” You can’t learn the voice of God without first praying to Him. Whether your prayer sounds like an old English speech or a caveman’s grunt, just do it.

Prayer: Lord, I come to you today being fully myself. I don’t have to put up a front, sound fancy, or be perfect because you know my heart. I bring all of my shortcomings, annoyances, victories, losses, and everything in between to your throne. Thank you for being closer than the air I breathe and most importantly calling me your friend. I will pray without ceasing today and forevermore. In Jesus name amen.