Want to improve your communication skills?
Write emails that are shorter, clearer and less misunderstood?
Express your feelings to others without hurting them and making it all about you, speaking the truth in love?
Talk about Jesus to your friends in a way that makes them want to hear more?
Then pray more patiently.
By improving your patient praying to God, you will improve your speaking to others. How?
Prayer is a safe, divine, intimate laboratory for you to practice your words. God is more forgiving than even the kindest teacher or mentor. By speaking to him in words of prayer, you are learning to use the right words, in the right way.
You won’t always get it right, but you’re working on it and you’ll get better.
How you learn to speak to God about the problems and people and pains of your life, that will shape how you speak to those people, or speak during those problems or speak about those pains.
“Night and day we pray” (1 Thessalonians 3:10).
So, go into prayer expecting to take it slow, to practice and practice and practice, to work at it over time, and to learn a new language.
PRAYER: God, I want to pray more patiently, not only waiting for you, but waiting for myself. I want to patiently slow down, learn how to speak, and let your words echo into my everyday life. Teach me, Lord. Amen.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Prayer has been called a Christian’s second language, after we learn the first language which is God’s Word.