[Nevertheless] Prayer is Greater Than Profanity

I'm sad.

I'm sad that I'm going to miss a night of my church's Tuesday Night Sunday School, but moreso that I'm going to miss my friend Ashely's lesson entitled "Prayer is Greater Than Profanity." I'm really curious to see where she goes with that theme! 

Years ago, in my early years at Tuesday Night Sunday School, when I was mostly distracted by my five young children, one lesson captivated my attention. It was a lesson on the commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. This was back in the days when the words "oh my god" came out of just about every mouth in a variety of ways. It was the thing to say. OMG was the response to everything online - exciting things, shocking things, disgusting things, depressing things. 

I didn't say OMG so much as, "my lord!" I have no idea how it started, I just found myself saying it when I was frustrated, overwhelmed, dismayed. But after that night, I changed this exclamation of displeasure into prayer. 

"My Lord, give me patience with these children and help me to realize that they are having just as difficult a time right now as I am."

"My Lord, I'm beyond tired. Please help me to have enough energy to get dinner cooked, children fed and wrangled into bed. And please help us all get a good night's sleep."

"My Lord, please give me the right words to say. Help me to keep an open mind. Calm the roar of fear that fills my ears so I can better hear and respond to your will."

"My Lord, I would really like to knock a little sense into my husband .. just a little bit .. right now but I know there has to be a better way to go about things, so please help me to calm down before I overreact."

"My Lord, thank you for the minefield of Legos strewn across the floor that serve as a reminder of  the beautiful gift of the children to whom they belong. Please make my eyesight keen so I don't miss a single block, my knees nimble so I can get back up off this floor, and help me resist the overwhelming urge to transfer every tiny automatic binding brick to the refuse receptacle."

To this day, I pray this way. Many, many times a day. I think it helps...most days.

How much better would you life be if you pruned profanity into prayer?