Prayer Is Unscripted

Do you make a habit of prayer? Like, do you have a specific time of prayer or do you have a routine of prayer? Like a planned prayer time?

Many people have found that it’s a good discipline to have such a habits. And they find devotionals like this one to be helpful for inspiring and guiding them in their planned prayer lives.

But, for people who have been dedicated to this kind of thing for a long time—they might find it difficult to pray outside of these designated times. Or maybe they’ve found it difficult to pray in their own words instead of the words in the prayer book. They might have trapped themselves in the prescribed prayers on the page.

But as good as those resources and times are, prayer is also meant to be unscripted. It’s meant to flow out of you, where you’re not too worried about getting all the words right or being eloquent or anything like that. You’re just praying what’s on your heart, praying whatever comes to mind.

These are the types of prayers that you can actually just pray throughout the day as you go about your work or when you’re driving in your car, or even while you’re having a conversation with someone. And they can be short and to the point—“Help, Lord!”

Paul says that we’re to be praying at all times in the Spirit. Unless we’re praying unhindered by formalities, frankly I don’t see how else we could do it.

Pray with me. Father, thanks that you hear whatever we have on our hearts and that you don’t send us away because we don’t have all the words right and stuff like that. I guess we’re saying thanks that we always have an open invitation, that we’re welcome in your house any time. We love you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.