5 Days with God amid Ordinary MotherhoodSýnishorn

Day Five: Inviting God into Our Hearts through Prayer

“Do not be like [pagans], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:8

I suck at prayer. I do. Sometimes I get distracted by a kid or a phone call or a dog or a text, and I forget to come back to it at all. Sometimes I fall asleep. Sometimes I’m not sure what to say, and I feel like I’m just going through the laundry list: “I’m grateful for,” “Forgive me for,” “I’m praying for,” followed by all the ideas I have for how things should go.

I don’t know why prayer can be so hard for me. I go to church regularly. I read Scripture. I read lots of faith-based books too. But most of the time I still wonder if I’m doing it right. Is this the way??

These past few years, as I worked harder at my prayer life, I started doing this little imagery trick in my head. I imagine as I pray that I’ve climbed onto Jesus’ lap. That He’s holding me there like a child. And as I stumble through the words, He keeps His arms wrapped around me and I rest my head on His shoulder. Somehow it makes me feel more connected even if I struggle with what exactly to say.

But then tonight it came to me. After her bath and jammies, my daughter walked over with her arms held high. “Momma, I just need you.” I think she was cold.

So I wrapped her in my arms and held her for a while on the rocker. No talking or songs or books, just a mom holding her little girl—rocking and patting her back, noticing the soft squishy warmness of her tiny body, leaning in for a good long whiff of her freshly washed hair, loving her down to the last little drop because she needed me to. And somewhere in that perfect moment, it occurred to me, THIS is the phrase I’ve been looking for.

Jesus, I just need you.

Because the truth is, He already knows.

He knows me. He knows every single detail. He knows about my joys and sorrows. He sees me in my sins. He already knows the desires of my heart. And He loves me right down to the last little drop.

Mommas, we don’t need to pray with fancy words or formal prayers or perfect posturing. We simply need Him.

So the next time we stumble over our words or we’re too exhausted to keep our eyes open or we’re distracted by the crazy chaos of the day, we only need to stop and pray—Jesus, I just need you.

• How have you been struggling in your prayer life? Can this one simple phrase take away the pressure to do it “right”?

In the morning or throughout the day, maybe on the long drive home from school, or as you slog on through the bedtime routine, remember Jesus is with you. He is listening. And He doesn’t require anything fancy. Simply invite Him in—Jesus, I just need you.

We adapted this reading plan from a book resource. Learn more at https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/382624