Writing a three-line prayer
There is praying in your head, and there is praying with a pencil. Writing forces you to choose your words, to get to the essential, and it leaves a trace. This quest asks you for something very short: three lines, no more. That is enough to say something true.
What it looks like in your day
Take a notebook, or open the notes on your phone. Then write three lines, speaking to God with "you." There is no required form, but here is a very simple outline:
- Line 1: what you tell God about him. A trait of his, a memory of what he has done. "Lord, you carried me this week."
- Line 2: what you are living. A reality, honest, without embellishing. "I'm worried about Thursday's meeting."
- Line 3: what you ask. A specific request. "Give me clarity and peace."
Another example, a happier one:
Thank you for this sunshine and for the conversation with Sarah. I am happy, and I would like it to last. Teach me to stay grateful when everything is going well.
For a rushed day, write it in thirty seconds on the subway. If you are shy in front of a blank page, don't try to make it beautiful: write the way you would talk to a friend. If you have no idea, start from a psalm: copy a verse, then write two lines that respond to it.
Keep these three lines. In a few weeks, you will reread them with amazement, sometimes with emotion.
What the Bible says
Many prayers in the Bible fit in a few lines. This one, in the Psalms, is a little model of conciseness:
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
And this other one, just as brief, asks for help on the way:
“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”
These prayers were written down, kept, handed on. What people put in writing to speak to God became an entire book. Writing your prayer is therefore not a schoolroom exercise, it is a practice with a long history.
Hannah prays in bitterness before God (1 Samuel 1:10), then expresses her joy in a song (1 Samuel 2:1): her words count, by turns bitter and joyful, but always sincere. The publican (Luke 18:13) prays in one sentence. The Bible doesn't demand long formulas.
Pitfalls to avoid
Perfectionism. You are not writing to be published. If a sentence is clumsy, leave it. An imperfect but true prayer is better than a perfect but absent one.
The "religious" style. Sometimes it feels as if you must write in old-fashioned language to be heard. Nothing of the sort. Write in your words of today.
Never rereading. A written prayer gains weight when it is reread. Pick up your notebook once a week: you will see requests that have moved forward, fears that have melted away, forgotten thank-yous.
Turning prayer into a diary. A prayer is addressed to God. If you only write "I had a bad day," without ever speaking to him, it is not yet prayer. Simply add: "Lord, here is my day."
Forcing yourself to stop at three lines if you feel like going on. The three lines are a minimum, not a ceiling. If inspiration comes, let it flow.
Today, take three lines. One for him, one for you, one for your request. Write them before you carry on with your day.