The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

—Matthew 6:7–8

So many of us are nervous to pray in front of people because we don’t think our prayers sound good enough. Sometimes we’re even hesitant to pray to God in private because we think we won’t do it right; we’ll get distracted or speak with clumsy words. But God doesn’t care about whether our prayers sound fancy, thoughtful, or smart enough, and he already knows about all our weaknesses and distraction. He still wants us to come to him.

When Jesus tells the disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9–13, the example he gives is about forty seconds long. This is our model prayer—the Lord’s prayer.

He wants our prayers to be full of our desire for him and his will, humility, trust in his provision, forgiveness, and hope for the future.

Our prayers—as we see in verse 8—are not even really about making sure we remember every tiny thing we should pray for, because he already knows them. They’re about communing with our Father, being in relationship with him, and trusting him. They can be simple and short.

A good father doesn’t require his children to speak with ceremony and flounder through unnatural words; he simply rejoices in their desire to be with him and receive his guidance.

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