"Abba, Can You Fix This?"

[Jesus said] "When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you."

Matthew 6:5-6

I remember in Basic Training being so stressed that I asked to speak to the Chaplain, who happened to be Catholic.  I was permitted to go to meet with him during confession.  Not knowing exactly how the Confessional worked, I went with the approach I remembered from movies and television.  I sat in the booth, knocked on the partition and when the door slid open, I said "Forgive me Father for I have sinned."  Imagine my surprise when the voice on the other side of the partition said, "Well, yeah....I know that.  Why else would you be here."  The Chaplain knew I had no real idea what I was doing, but he also knew I was in distress and hurting.  He suggested we go to his office and just talk like "true friends do."  

I learned quite a lot during our discussion.  The first thing I learned...generic blanket prayers DO NOT WORK!  Read that again...generic blanket prayers are mere words thrown up at the ceiling. Yet when I can give Abba specifics that I KNOW are causing me pain, stress and grief, then Abba and I are having a TRUE conversation!  

If you have had truly deep conversations with your best friend, you understand how incredible they are!  THAT is the conversation we must have, not the generic "bless me and help me today," rather "Abba, I am struggling with the loss of my Grampa and Gramma.  You've got them now, yet I still miss him.  Help me accept that and tell them I love them.  Protect me when the enemy whispers doubts and tries to break my heart all over again.  When he does, drag me to You!"  

True prayer is not generic!  True prayer is very specific.  And when I don't know what I need to say, Romans 8:26 "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." And when my heart feels Abba move, it's time to ask Him to help me voice to Him what I could not before.

Honestly, I realize this is long.  I hope it will be helpful.