Some say social media is a complete waste of time, and it can be. But today, a random stranger posted about a difficult season he was walking through. It made him question his faith. He didn’t ask for prayer. He didn’t ask for anything, just needed to put it into words.

I replied, “Hang in there. Prayers are on the way.”

But as it posted, I found a glaring typo. Instead of “prayers ON the way,” I typed “prayers are IN the way.”

A quick edit and my finger fumbling was corrected.

The result of moving too fast made me pause and consider: Do my prayers really get in the way?

 

Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. These are broad, all-encompassing concepts. But what about the specifics?

The child in need of great miracles.
The heart in need of being held together just one more day.
And all the other concerns that furrow lines in my forehead.

Does praying the Rosary, or reciting a memorized Lord’s Prayer, or whatever your tradition is, does it take prayer time away from what weighs heaviest on our hearts?

Thanks be to God that He knows them all, even the smallest detail I forgot to mention.

 

Perhaps beginning with “Blessed are You” or “Hallowed be Thy Name” clears the clutter and opens our hearts so the Holy Spirit can peek in and see what’s really going on.

Because we don’t know how to pray. But the Spirit intercedes on our behalf when we don’t have the words.

 

It wasn’t until I put pen to paper that I realized what I had truly written.

My prayers were not IN the way.
My prayers were in THE WAY.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

Lord, help me stand so I may remain in The Way.
Your way.

Amen…