Recently I visited some family members in Florida after having attended a Bible conference. One of my cousins brought over a box of books that were free for the taking. Among them was a prayer journal with insights from Billy Graham. One in particular really made an impression on me.  The aged evangelist wrote,
Think back to your own childhood for a moment. When you were young, did you talk with your father in a series of carefully memorized sentences? No, of course not. You talked with him freely and openly about everything – and he delighted in that. The same is true with God, your heavenly Father. He delights in the prayers of His people! Don’t worry whether you’re eloquent enough; your father didn’t turn you away when you spoke baby talk – and neither does God.
Though I’ve been a Christian for nearly four decades, I still feel as if I’m given to “baby talk” in my prayers. The more I know of God’s holiness, majesty, sovereignty and glory, the more inadequate my prayers seem. How good it is to be reminded that God is not only the High and Holy One, but He is also my heavenly “Daddy.” As such, He longs for me simply to come and share my heart with Him.
The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (vv. 14-16 NIV).
We hope that you‚Äôll keep this in mind as you pray, too. Most likely you have struggled with the same sense of inadequacy at one time or another. Perhaps this is one reason that Jesus taught us to begin our prayers with ‚ÄúOur Father….‚Äù What a great reminder. What a great and loving God!