Love Language

“Can I talk to you about something?” she said. “Whenever I start to pray, I start thinking about the past and feeling regret.”

We talked about it for a minute, but the truth is...I don’t feel qualified to talk to someone about their prayer life. Mine is full of mountains and valleys as it is. I’ve learned that listening in my prayers is way more important than talking. What He has to say is transforming. What I have to say is typically…well...irrelevant. 

He already knows. When the surgery is. Whether or not it’s cancer. What is needed. What is desired. He already knows. Two thousand years ago, Paul said it like this, “We do not even know what we ought to pray for.” Or the Spirit said it through Paul...maybe I should say it like that. He was right. The fact remains, the prayers where I have listened have been much more life changing than the prayers where I have talked. 

So the answer to the dilemma presented to me? I don’t really know. But I do know this...I begin to tell my friend...feelings of regret don’t come from the Father. When a child desires to talk to their mother, no mother I know would make their son or daughter feel regret in that moment. And as Jesus said, “How much more does you Father in heaven desire to give you good gifts?” 

So here is the thing...feelings of regret and unworthiness like that...the feelings all of us have at different times, about different things...those feelings don’t come from your Father. They come from the enemy. They come from the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, not the One who came to give life and life more abundant. 

It’s a great spiritual conflict we all face. Peter said the enemy roams about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour...with regret, unworthiness, anxiety, depression, and whatever other feeling he can speak into your existence...to your destruction...especially when you seek the Kingdom. But there also exists an Almighty Shepherd...presiding over His flock...to provide, protect, and defend...to give life, and life more abundant. 

He isn’t the one bringing up the past. He isn’t the one making you live in regret. He isn’t the one causing you to feel shame and guilt. Because when He looks at you, He sees what are you becoming. And it’s more beautiful than anything you could ever imagine...even for yourself.

So when you pray...and in all things you do…remember Who you are with and what He wants for you. It’s far greater than anything you can imagine. And if  the emotions you feel aren’t in line with that...they aren’t from your Father. That’s not His language. That’s not the language of love.