Why do people talk funny in prayers?
I still catch myself doing this...
Every person I’ve ever heard pray…talks differently…when they’re praying.
Sometimes, I would hear people throw out some words like “thy” and “thine,” but other times it was just the way they would say things that seemed a bit off.
Or it was certain words that you just don’t normally hear.
“God, grant us…”
“Jesus, give us the patience and perseverance…”
There’s just some funny ways of talking when we pray.
And I am just as guilty of it.
So the question is: does that matter?
And that’s the question I want to dig into this week. Breaking down some of the more “Christianese” things we say when we pray…and ask, “why?”
I’ve done this once before when I talked about the word “hallowed” from The Lord’s Prayer. (see below)
And the first of these is when we say things like “grant” and “guide” - these are two words that we don’t use very often in everyday language. But they pop up a lot in prayers.
And I think it has a lot to do with struggling to find the words to say, “I need help with…”
“God, grant me the wisdom…” means “I need help with wisdom.”
And it sounds more official than just asking for help.
But maybe God just wants us to ask for help when we need it? Maybe we don’t want to ask for help because it seems like we are incapable of doing it ourselves?
Maybe…it’s because we are worried that we are using God like a genie in a lamp.
My prayer for today
Our Father, I need help wrestling with asking for help. It doesn’t come naturally to me and I can feel it draining my mental and emotional tank to ask for help. Help me ask for help, Spirit. Amen.
Remember
Try swapping out asking for guidance or asking for God to “grant” you something…and just ask for help when and if you need it. No strings attached. See what happens!