Our Prayers Don’t Have To Be Perfect... But The God Who Listens Is.

His two-year-old is jumping on him and kicking him in the side. His four-year-old is hanging around his neck trying to twist it off, and he’s sitting there, about to start praying. 

In this slipping  moment, Alex Jones, the CEO and co-founder of Hallow, the number one Prayer app in the world, thinks, “Our family is failing at this.” 

And yet, a moment later, while praying a little longer, he realizes his frustration is ungrounded, surrenders it to the Lord, and is hit with this thought:

“How lucky am I to be sitting here with a four-year-old hanging from my neck and a two-year-old kicking my side who are happy and healthy and have brought so much joy to me. How lucky am I to be able to sit in this moment and give glory to God through it?”

Turns out our Prayer doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.

Growing up, my mother always told me, “Dani, the power of prayer doesn't lie in the one who prays but in the one who listens.”

She repeated this consistently as anxiety over the smallest of things spiraled into my thoughts and would remind me that in talking with the Lord, I would begin to experience a perspective shift in which the same situation is suddenly seen in a new light. I realized prayer changes everything, beginning with us.

In conversation with Alex, a similar conclusion was reached as he emphasized how prayer oftentimes may not immensely or immediately change the situation at hand but will most definitely shift how you experience it.

But what is Prayer, you may be wondering? Well, it's a conversation with God, an invitation into fellowship with Christ, and moments of talk with the divine. It’s not meant to be difficult or hard to access, yet most of us never do it, and when we do, we get caught up making it perfect or in “praying for the right thing”. Or perhaps we stop ourselves out of fear of not knowing “how” to pray.

Sure, we should be striving to pray in the right way. But don’t let the fear of getting it wrong stop you from praying! That's one of the many beauties of Hallow. If you don't know where to start, it's a phenomenal place to begin.

And if you're looking for a great prayer to begin with, there may be no better starting place than the prayer given by Jesus himself when asked “how should we pray”.

Jesus said:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and forever. Amen."

And to that, I say Amen. 

Amen, despite the headaches and the busyness. Amen amidst deadlines and traffic. Amen to the small beauties found in the imperfections of each fleeing moment.

There is no better moment to talk to God than now.

So do it.

The power of your prayer does not lie in what you say but in the one who listens.

- Making The Most Of Being Curious

Daniel J. Cuesta

Afterword:

It is by the Grace of God that I had the privilege and honor to sit down with Alex Jones and discuss his perspectives on Jesus, the power of prayer, the epidemic of noise, and the role of surrender in both business and life.

Having had the opportunity to discuss all these topics with Alex has opened my eyes to a richer understanding of its value and supreme importance. While he is an instrument in the Lord's hands, I am beyond grateful to him for his willingness and wisdom.

As Lent season begins, I would highly recommend trying the Hallow app for free for the next 90 days at the following link: Hallow

Growing our relationship with the Lord, at the end of the day, is the only thing that really matters, even though we aren’t perfect… because He is.

I look forward to writing more about our conversation over the coming weeks, but in the meantime, to watch the full episode, visit the DC YouTube channel: DanielCuesta007