Praying from Your Toes

Over the weekend as I was giving a two-minute "faith story" to my congregation, the Lord stopped me in the middle to talk to my heart.

I related a moment when a family crisis buckled me, doubled me over with pain and concern for the ones I loved. In telling the congregation that all I could manage to pray was, "Oh, Lord Jesus! Oh, Lord Jesus!" over and over, the light dawned.

That's the perfect crisis prayer. It lacked nothing. I thought it was too simple to count for much, but on Sunday morning, God showed me how wrong I was.

The "Oh" is the emptying of myself. It's the groan that acknowledges I have nothing in me that can make any difference at all in the current situation.

The "Lord" part of that three-word prayer recognizes His sovereignty, His lordship over, yes, even the source of my pain.

The "Jesus" portion of that prayer is key because it is the only Name through which a situation or a life can be saved.

Oh, Lord Jesus.

The perfect crisis prayer.