I asked the students in my spiritual formation class who would volunteer to pray a specific way in a room where we had gathered. The place was significant. I told a little of the story—the history, the purpose of that room. I thought it would be an ideal location to emphasize a particular method of prayer.
One student volunteered. He’s not one who often speaks about prayer. He doesn’t use the typical church clichés. But lately, he’s shown a fresh interest in learning what prayer really is. His response was genuine—three simple words, spoken with a touch of doubt: “I will try.”
He wasn’t sure if he was the one to do this. He didn’t seem confident about how to do this. But he was willing. He was willing to pray. So he answered with honesty and humility: “I will try.”
Isn’t that what we all should do? When invited to pray—when we sense a loving God drawing us into conversation—rather than following a script, what if we simply try?
What if we offer ourselves and do what we can? What if we invest a little effort, a little time, a few questions, a few words—and just pray?
Will you try? I invite you to. I dare myself to.
No script to follow. No teleprompter to read from. No memorized text to recite.
Just say yes—and try.
Even in the doubt, the uncertainty, the confusion—just say yes, and try.
And, yes, he did lead the class in prayer.
It was genuine. Real. Sincere.
I’m glad he said yes.
I’m glad he tried to pray.
Will we?
This definitely spoke to me and was a big encouragement. I often feel the Lord wanting to connect with me and I sometimes think I need to be in the right space or time to fix my eyes on the Lord. But in reality, He wants the truth. He wants the real. He already knows everything on my mind before I tell Him. So I can confidently say yes to that invitation even if I don’t know what do say or how exactly to connect with the Lord in that moment and He will guide my steps.
I am so thankful for that class. I have really been convicted to slow down. Specifically in prayer. I speed up and say words from a script in order to make myself look good or more spiritual. It is the pride that build up in me to do that. This spiritual formations class is teaching me that it does not matter if I stumble over my words or if I cannot even think of any to say. All I have to do is just be honest and real with God. He will take care of the rest. I am so thankful for the posture of moving slowly towards God. After all, when we start coming His way, He starts to run towards us (Matthew 15:20).
There have been a lot of activities that we have done in class that I can recall vividly, and that was one of those moments. It was a special moment to see that he had the heart, he had the desire, and he did lead us in prayer. Sometimes we just have to remember to try. We don’t have to be perfect; we just have to try. We don’t have to be flawless; we just have to try.