“I’m sorry to keep asking for prayer” is something I have heard people say far too often (I’ve also said it myself). We tend to think of ourselves as a burden when we ask others for prayer, and sometimes we even seem to think that God is too busy with important matters to deal with our silly issues. But if we look at scripture, I don’t think that’s how God sees it. God is limitless, and exists outside of time, and therefore He is never too busy for you. There may be bigger things happening in the world at large, but there are no prayers that are too small to bring before Him. Far from viewing our prayers as a burden, God perceives them as precious incense. Psalm 141:2 says, “May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.” and Revelation 5:8(b) describes a scene from God’s throne room in Heaven: “…Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

Furthermore, scripture instructs us repeatedly to pray, and doesn’t put limitations on prayer. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says that we should never stop praying. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” some interpretations say “Pray without ceasing”. And though scripture comforts us in telling us that we shouldn’t worry, it also acknowledges that we do worry, and that, when struggling with worry, we should place our trust in God. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” So, you’re not annoying God with your prayers, and no care is too small. God is love. He isn’t a big threatening CEO sitting behind a celestial desk and barking “TIME IS MONEY, GABRIEL” into his angel phone. Jesus didn’t ask us to call Him “Boss”, he asked us to call him “Father”.

When I was little I remember my mom praying every time she lost her keys and was at her wit’s end looking for them. Because of that, I do the same whenever I can’t find anything and every time God shows me where I left the thing I’m looking for. I also learned to pray against bugs. As a child growing up in south Texas I lived in a house on a corner lot with 18 large trees throughout the front and back yard. If you’re from south Texas you know that trees mean roaches. When I was about 10 or so, the trees became home to a great many cockroaches who then decided they would like to cease being tree creatures and move in with us. My sister and I would earn money by mowing the lawn, and as we did so we could see the roaches scattering from the mower’s blade under the long grass, and when the wind blew, some would fall out of the trees onto us. And we would run screaming into the house to the alarm of our parents. Once there were roaches inside the house it felt like nowhere was safe. We’d turn on the light in the kitchen to see one run out of sight under a cabinet, or walk into a room to see one hanging out on the wall or ceiling. If you’re not familiar with south Texas cockroaches, they’re big, and ugly, and they fly. An average sized south Texas cockroach is about 3 inches long in its body, not including legs and antennae. They’re absolutely disgusting and they’re every-freaking-where, especially in the summer time. One year we just had such a hard time getting rid of them, and they would come out at night, in the dark. There was a very infested tree right outside my bedroom window and I wanted to sleep with all the lights on in my room because I didn’t want the roaches to come out and crawl on me while I was sleeping. I was so afraid of them that I would sleep with my head fully covered by the blankets, rolling myself up inside the sheets like a burrito, and then I would pray. I would pray fervently until I fell asleep that the roaches wouldn’t come near me while I was sleeping. I would actually ask God to send me an angel to keep the roaches away from me. Now, scripture does indicate that God is limitless but it doesn’t indicate that there are endless supplies of angels. As an adult I get a giggle out of the idea of God assigning an angel to roach-guarding duty for a little girl in Texas. Did he stand there with his flaming sword just zapping the roaches? Or merely give them a stern talking-to for scaring me and then send them on their way?

One summer a few years ago my family took a beach trip to South Padre Island. South Padre is about four hours south of where I grew up in Victoria, and you better believe they have the same cockroaches down there. We rented a condo on the beach and went to the local grocery store to stock up, and as we were getting out of the car I spotted one of those roaches scurrying under the car and immediately got back in my seat and closed the door in a panic. I was scared to get out, thinking maybe it flew up underneath my car and would crawl inside if I opened the door again. My whole family was standing in the parking lot looking at me like I was crazy, but I felt frozen with fear. I started to pray, and I distinctly felt a gentle admonition – I protected you from them when you were little, why do you think I won’t protect you from them now? And with that assurance, I got out of the car, and didn’t see any more roaches.

A couple years ago my leadership team and I were on our way to the MOPS (Now MomCo) retreat and discussing the prevalence of scorpions in the Texas hill country where we were headed. A few of us were very nervous about the possibility of scorpions, so I told the above story and prayed for God to protect us from scorpions. We didn’t see any the entire time we were there, not inside the house or outside on the property. I prayed the same prayer again when we visited the refugee camp in Reynosa, Mexico in April of this year, and we didn’t see any scorpions OR cockroaches. At a refugee camp. In Mexico. Don’t tell me God doesn’t listen to your little, unimportant prayers. Just yesterday in my bible reading I noticed this verse for the first time: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” That was a real eye-opener for me! Jesus said this to the 72 when he was sending them out to the towns to announce the kingdom of Heaven.

He watches over us, even in the little things. He’s not too busy, we’re not a burden, and our prayers are precious to Him.