Lyndi Markus
Editor-in-Chief for UpFront
Dear younger me,
You’re newish to praying—
a little green, a little naive,
but so expectant—
and I can still feel
You put so much pressure on yourself to do it right.
You pray for protection—
you thank God for good days.
You ask God to save loved ones who don’t believe yet.
You repeat the name of Jesus against your bad dreams
late at night.
You ask for healing.
When it doesn’t feel like God answers, it is probably your
fault–
your prayer life isn’t disciplined.
Morning quiet times don’t work for you.
Your language doesn’t include the words that Jesus will
hear.
You repent of your inadequacies.
I wish I knew when I was you—
just being with Jesus is enough.
Things will change when you let go
of all your expectations for perfect prayer.
You can focus on the conversation, the rhythm, the rest.
You’ll find many right ways to pray, younger me—
the tried-and-true words of Jesus, tools others have tried and
made true
communally, alone, in silence, in music, in motion, in warfare, in
a labyrinth
borrowing others’ words when their desperation may mirror your own.
I think… I hope… I pray we need it all.
I wish I’d known to ask when I was you—
“What might Jesus say?”
sitting next to you, sipping a coffee, telling some sly joke
your conversation with Him so unique, so different from every other conversation
He’s had today. Jesus loves that about you.
So just…be. It’s enough.
Love,
Yourself, Just Older
