Short Prayers

Ever since Autumn’s birth three weeks ago, my daily routine has been set aside. It’s not really much of a sacrifice, especially when Autumn opens her blue eyes wide and stares at my face (she’s on the verge of her first real smile!) or when I touch her soft, fluffy hair (which also happens to smell delicious). But there are a couple things these past few weeks that I’ve missed. Sleep, obviously. And walking outside by myself.  I used to start each day with a thirty minute walk through my neighborhood before anyone else was out of bed. I would take little scripture cards with me and pray while I walked. But now I spend the early mornings nursing Autumn or trying to squeeze every possible minute of sleep out of the night. I still pray, but it’s usually just for a minute or two here and there while I’m folding laundry or picking up toys.

I feel a bit scattered.

But I know it won’t always be like this. At some point Autumn will settle into a general routine like the other kids. She’ll eventually sleep through the night and I’ll have time again to walk and pray in the mornings.

In the meantime, I pray short prayers. And I think God is okay with that. A few months ago I came across a beautiful post on Ann Voskamp’s blog highlighting short prayers in the Bible. Here are a few I just love:

– David’s prayer: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight” (Psalm 19:4).

– Peter’s prayer: “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30).

– Solomon’s prayer: “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” (Psalm 127:3)

– Eve’s praise prayer: “With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man” (Genesis 4:1).

Voskamp says there is great value in echoing these prayers throughout the day: “With the help of the Lord, bread’s in the oven…” For me it’s more like, “With the help of the Lord, I didn’t yell at my kids today…” I’ve had my share of overwhelming moments these past few weeks. But I’m starting to learn that telling myself how overwhelmed I am doesn’t help me much. It’s better to pray a short prayer out loud and move forward in that direction, even when the prayer expresses an emotion opposite of what I’m feeling in the moment (“Children are a blessing!”). It’s better to agree with God than to dwell too much on my emotions. Especially when I’m sleep deprived.

I’m so glad God doesn’t require long, articulate prayers. We don’t even have to be original or creative. We can just take some of His words and give them back. I love the way He meets us with grace and understanding no matter where we are in life.  Jesus didn’t have kids of His own during His time on earth, but messy people—the ones who didn’t have their lives all in perfect order—loved Him. And that makes me think God has extra grace for moms like me, especially during these chaotic days and long nights.

“He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” – Isaiah 40:11