Simple

“Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.  With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.”  Matthew 6:8, The Message

I must say that I am very proud of our boys, in particularly, our oldest son, Elliott, who has given us a very short and precise wish list this Christmas.  This, of course, is in stark contrast to when I was younger, as I would typically began combing Sears and Toys R Us catalogs that were mailed to our home and devising my master wish list for Christmas by the end of each summer. I would typically condense my multi-paged wish list by the end of November so that it was a little more realistic for anyone who was doing their Christmas shopping for me, but I am pretty sure that I asked for every single toy that I laid my eyes on for many years.

Elliott has only given us a few items that he really wants this year: a Disney Infinity video game, a basketball and goal,  Legos, and Minecraft stuff.  (Hopefully, Santa can come through for him this Christmas!)

Just like a parent strives to provide their children with the most wanted gifts on their Christmas wish list, God also promises to supply our needs, not necessarily our wants.   The above paraphrased passage from the book of Matthew was Jesus’ advice for us on how to pray to God.  Jesus was telling us that God already knows what we need, so we should not have to babble or ramble on when we pray to Him.

When we pray and keep it simple, focusing on what God values, the more we will be able to distinguish our wants from our needs.  Furthermore, we can rest assured that God doesn't need some elaborate string of words to determine what it is that we need because He already knows!