When Women Pray...

Today we had a baby shower for an amazing young couple whom we all love so much! This couple has been investing in our own kids at our local church for a couple of years, and so it is such a blessing for us to be part of their experience as they welcome a precious baby girl into their home!




One of the habits that we have is that we spend time praying for the mom, dad, baby, etc... It is so sweet to hear the different ladies' thoughts as they intercede for the family. I particularly love taking note of the unique ways in which the Lord leads the thoughts and burdens of each lady. What a beautiful thing when we share our heart with the Lord and each other in such a way!


So, on the way home, I was sharing this thought with my daughter. I was telling her that I was so proud of our young ladies and how mature and thoughtful their prayers were. She was expressing to me in return how it is hard, because she doesn't know how to say exactly what she is thinking, and she feels like she stumbles around and doesn't do a good job. She never expected that I would tell her that I completely understand and that I struggle with the same thing! As a matter of fact, I have heard so many people say the same thing. So, I shared with her for awhile about how the Lord just loves to hear us express our thoughts to Him; about scriptures that would tell us that the Lord doesn't care about fancy, perfectly put-together prayers; and then about some practical things that you learn about praying out loud... specifically, she said that she know that she says, um, too much, but doesn't like it. I was telling her about 'filler' words, and how, eventually, you just learn to pause while you are thinking.


She looked at me in disbelief, and said, "Really! That is what they are doing when they pause? I just thought they were all crying!"


LOL - I am still cracking up. Because, yeah, that's what happens when women pray!