“It’s better to have good prayers than bad thoughts;” is what a wise friend said the other day. The idea hit me like a ton of (not too hard) bricks. It was as if a light suddenly turned on or a door was opened. God works like that sometimes. Sometimes out of the blue He’ll speak a truth through someone you love and trust and do it in a way that leaves no doubt as to your friend’s wisdom and God’s presence in them.
The statement is itself a brilliant little prayer, a way to reach out to God and say: “Hey, I’m getting the cart before the horse, I’ve got my priorities mixed up, I’m trying to go it alone and I need your help.” Speak it as a proverb or a maxim when folly or ignorance are sneaking into your conversation or your ideas. Work it into your daily work discipline as a way of starting things rather than using it as a crutch when you’ve worked your way into a mess.
Our thoughts are powerful things, and as a remarkably wise comic book writer once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The power of thought is not always directed where it should. They aren’t always healthy or helpful. Sometimes our own thoughts get the better of us and lead us into doing or saying something that is patently stupid or unkind. With all that happens in our lives, good, bad and indifferent, we can think some pretty silly things and we can’t avoid the odd excursion into complete and utter foolishness. Whenever we trust ourselves bad thoughts are as inevitable as long-winded preachers.
The answer is found in the truth of my opening statement: “It’s better to have good prayers than bad thoughts.” Whether we just want to avoid thinking unhelpful things, or we simply need to get back to a better set of ideas, good prayers are always in order. Or any prayer, for that matter. While some words offered to God might be more beautiful or eloquent than others, any prayer offered with Christ-like trust and love is a good prayer. Bad prayers only happen if we’re selfish or unloving. Even then, God sees through our thoughtless offerings to the heart of our pain or weakness. We might not say the right thing, but God knows what we mean. He knows the truth of who we are and why we’ve come before him.
No heartfelt, Christ-like prayer is ever wasted. God hears us and works through us to help our prayers become good thoughts. That’s why it’s better to have good prayers than bad thoughts. It puts us in the right frame of mind, evoking the Holy Spirit, trusting God and gets us out of our way.
Think good thoughts. Offer good prayers. May you be as blessed by that wonderful phrase as I have been.
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