Before It Was Said

Before It Was Said--FFH

Everyday I sit and pray that God above will watch over me and my family,
But everyday I seem to pray the same old thing in the same old way and I start to think
That maybe I should change and find something better to say
But I've learned to believe that you always hear me when I pray

(Chorus) So I get down on my knees 'cause I'm stronger than these voices inside of my head
They try to deceive me and make me believe that I would be better instead
To take my requests and put them to rest but You're already one step ahead
You know just what I would say before it was said

Every night I lie awake wondering if You're listening to every heartbeat
You've told me that You know the deepest part of me, you'll watch over me and my family
So I guess I shouldn't change 'cause You hear every word that I say
I know You are here when I come to You this way

(Chorus)

So I guess I shouldn't change 'cause You hear every word that I say
And I knew You were here when I knelt down today, yea

(Chorus)

One day when I was about thirteen, or so the pastor at my church’s yearly week-long revival spoke about prayer. He talked about how sometimes we, as christians, get stuck in the rut of cookie-cutter prayers. He then proceeded to give an example, which was word for word almost exactly what I prayed (and still pray) every single night. “Lord, thank-you for this day. Thank-you for my food, friends, and family. Thank-you for my church, and help me to do Your will. Amen.”

I was aghast. Had my whole prayer life become nothing more than habit? Was I ineffective when it came to portraying to God how I felt and what my desires were? Since then, I’ve often revisited this subject in my mind. I’ve learned that what we say in our prayers should come from the heart. It should be whatever we want to express to the Lord. Sometimes I don’t have the words to express what I feel, but I know that the Lord knows my mind and my heart. I know that when my words fail, that’s when the Spirit takes control.

I still pray those words every night because that’s what’s in my heart. They’re not habit or laziness or my cookie-cutter prayer. I don’t let doubt nag me and draw me away from my relationship with God. I could probably come up with a different way to say those things everynight, but then I’m focusing on the prayer and not on who I’m praying to.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” James 1:5-7

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26