“But she knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, help me’”— Matthew 15:25 (CEB).
Have you ever uttered a simple prayer like the one in Matthew 15:25? I have. In this scripture, Jesus is approached by a Canaanite woman. After telling Jesus about her daughter who is possessed by a demon, the disciples try to push her away from Him. Jesus waits in silence until she utters a three-word prayer that motivates Him into action.
Prayer, for some, is a mystery and a challenge. We let busyness and problems crowd out time with Jesus when He wants us to recognize our need for Him each day. Have your priorities overshadowed the need to seek Him in prayer?
British pastor Charles Spurgeon once said, “…True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length.”
We can utter a simple prayer of only one sentence and God will answer, not by how eloquently we pray but by how much faith we pray with. Remember what Jesus told the disciples about faith in Matthew 17:20? “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
I came across a list of one-sentence prayers, offered by author Brett Faris, that we can pray anytime and anywhere—prayers that can change the course of our day and that of others around us. I’ve adapted them to meet space constraints.
- Lord help me be a better person today than I was yesterday and the day before that.
- Lord help me to show this person your love and attention in a way that they haven’t seen before. (Pray this silently before you meet with an individual.)
- Lord help me believe that you are with me even when I’m unsure if you are. (Pray this next time you are feeling anxious or uncertain.)
- Lord help me have faith, the kind of faith that I could lift a mountain and toss it into the sea.
- Lord help me do the things I know I should be doing but currently I am not.
- Lord help me to believe I can make a difference in someone’s life today by just saying something nice to them.
- Lord help me trust that You have a plan for my life even when it may feel like it is a bad one.
- Lord help me have patience because I’m pretty sure I’m out.
- Lord help me to not care what people may think about me and only be concerned with what you think about me.
- Lord help me forgive people quickly and swiftly because if not the bitterness will have its way with me.
Sometimes we may not even know what we need from God. If you’re at a loss for words, just pray, “Lord, help me.”