How to Pray When You're Too Tired to Pray

Charlotte Elliott had been sick for so long, she'd

almost forgotten what a strong day felt like. For years, her

body had run on empty, and getting out of bed was its own

battle. On this particular day, the whole family was out doing

something good. Her brother, a minister, was raising money for

a school, and everyone had gone to help, everyone but Charlotte.

She was too weak to come, left at home while the people she

loved did the work. Lying there alone, an old accusation crept

back in. She was useless, a burden to everyone.

she figured God had no use for her either. We'll come back to

what she did from that bed, but

first, welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm

Bart Leger. There are nights I start praying in bed and never

finish the sentence. I'll be partway through telling God

about something that happened during the day, or somebody in

the church that needs help, and the next thing I know, the alarm

in the morning is going off. For years, that bothered me more

than it should have. I'd wake up feeling like I'd stood God up,

like the one part of the day that mattered most was the part

I couldn't stay awake for. And I'm a pastor. If anybody ought

to be able to hold a conversation with God at the end

of a long day, you'd think it would be me. Some nights, I just

can't. Maybe you know that feeling. The day finally winds

down and you've got nothing left.

And you start to wonder if there's something wrong with

your faith. Usually, the answer's simpler than you think.

You're worn out. Jesus ran into that exact situation with his

closest friends. And he cut them a bit of slack, but he was

pretty direct. It was the night before the cross. He took Peter

and two of the other disciples deeper in the garden of

Gethsemane and asked them to stay awake and pray with him. He

came back and found them asleep. He had asked for one thing on

the worst night of his life, and they couldn't even stay awake

for it. Listen to what he said to them in Matthew 26, 41. Keep

watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For

the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Jesus looked at

grown men who couldn't keep their eyes open for him, and he

put his finger on the right cause. The spirit was willing,

but the flesh had run out of gas. He gave them the diagnosis. He

knew what tired felt like. This is the same Jesus who preached

and healed until he slept so deeply in a boat that his

disciples had to shake him awake in the middle of a storm. he'd

eaten the last meal with his friends, and he was hours away

from the cross. When he talks about a weak body, he's talking

about something he had lived himself. So here's what I want

you to think about tonight. Prayer, when you're wiped out,

can be short and sweet, and God still hears every word of it. It

can be one line, God, I'm here, or God help me. That's a prayer,

and he receives it the same way he receives the long, polished

ones. Some of the best praying that you'll ever do will be

short and direct. Think about the prayers in Scripture that

got answered really fast. Peter, sinking in the water, managed

three words. Charlotte remembered something, and all he

got out was God be merciful to me, a sinner. Nobody scored

those prayers for length. Charlotte remembered something a

preacher had told her years before, back when she first came

to Christ. She had asked him how someone like her could come to

God, and he said she had nothing worth bringing anyway. She could

only come just as she was, so that's what she did. Too tired

to do anything else, she reached for pen and paper and wrote it

down as a prayer, Just as I am, without one plea. She had no

strength to offer and no good deed to point to, just herself

and her need. That poem became a hymn, Just as I am, and it has

drawn more people to God than she could have ever helped at

any fundraiser. Look at what Charlotte had to work with that

afternoon. No strength, nothing to bring. She wrote one line of

a prayer from her bed, and God did more with it than he would

have done with a full day of her running errands for the school.

God has a long habit of using people who come to him with

nothing left for themselves. Here's today's challenge.

Tonight, when you get into bed and you're too tired to pray,

don't skip it and don't apologize for it. Just say the

one line to God that you can manage. God, I'm here. That's

the whole prayer. If you fall asleep before you finish, then

you've fallen asleep talking with the Father, and that's a

good way to end the day. Father, thank you that you know what

tired feels like. You made these bodies, and you know exactly how

much they can take before they give out. For everyone listening

who gets to the end of the day with nothing left, receive the

small prayers. Take the half sentence and the one line

whispered in the dark. Remind them that you aren't measuring

their words or grading their effort. Give them rest and let

them wake up knowing you never left the room. In Jesus' name,

amen. This podcast runs on the generosity of listeners just

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devotions coming every day of the week. You can give at

dailydevotionsforbusylives.com slash support. Thank you so much,

and thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

Remember, a tired prayer is still a prayer. Say your one

line tonight. Let God handle the rest of it while you sleep. Come

back next time for more encouragement to help you live

grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless, and have a

great day.