At 5’1”, I’m generally considered a shortie. They always make me stand in front for group photos because everybody else can easily be seen over my head. I dutifully hem each pair of pants I buy. I gape through the armpit of the man in front of me at church to see the stage.
I didn’t have much say about my stature, but since my mother is the tallest of four sisters at 5-feet even, I never stood a chance of standing tall.
I have a soft spot for all things short. Including my awesome 5’6 husband.
So, I was delighted when I recently ran across the shortest Psalm in the Bible. Yep, the 117th Psalm is only two verses long! But strong, vibrant verses they are — the perfect example that short can be extremely powerful. That’s Communication 101 for us writers: write tight. Say what you mean and say it succinctly.
Yep, short can pack an incredible punch.
“Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness toward us, and the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 117 in its entirety).
See what I mean? This short but oh, so sweet Psalm explodes with the combustibility of Truth that the Almighty’s love blessings for us are eternal and truly worthy of our praise! And that’s all we really need to know right there. Bottom line. Close book.
The same power is present in short prayers too. Some think the more they drone on covering all possible bases, the more pious Yahweh will see them and perhaps push them to the front of the line. Nah.
A real prayer is a cry from the heart that bypasses all the fluff and communicates directly with the heart of God. Even if it takes only thirty seconds to cut right to the chase, we can be assured that “the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results,” (James 5:16, NLT).
If our intent is seeking God’s presence and His peace – His supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) — short frequent prayers keep our heavenly Father’s presence, wisdom, and guidance constant.
And that makes it possible to make prayer a lifestyle rather than an event.