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“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools; for they do not know how to keep from doing evil. Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few. For dreams come with many cares, and a fool's voice with many words.”
–– Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
Perhaps this is why prayer remains a challenge for me. What could I possibly say that is worthy of God’s attention? What words could I offer that won’t be exposed as nothing but self-involved striving or intemperate complaint? Even my prayers for others could come across as less about compassion and more about seeking validation for my caring heart. What do you say to One who knows your basest intents before you speak? A fool’s voice comes with many words. There is wisdom in the author’s counsel –– “Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth.”
Yet, God desires the connection prayer offers. To the Philippians, Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” To the Thessalonians, Paul said, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” To the exiles, the Lord said, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
In addition, we discover that the Lord was able to interpret the tortured verbiage of our petitions long before Google Translate. To the Romans, Paul reports, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Similarly, the Psalmist confesses, “You … are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.”
What a comfort it is to know that the Lord can take my tangled intentions and tossed word salad, and form them into a light for my path and wisdom for my days.
The first defense of the self-important is to react to confrontation with the question –– “Do you know who you are talking to?” They bank on the assumption that their status absolves them of responsibility or culpability. Could it be that the author of Ecclesiastes is counseling us to pose this question before we approach our Lord –– Do we know who we are talking to? Prayer is not to be an effort to align God with our intentions, but an offering of self in the hope that we may be aligned with God’s intentions. “To draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools.”
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