First Thought, Best Thought
Philippians 4:6-7(NLT) —
‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.’
One of my favourite phrases is ‘first thought, best thought’. It’s particularly helpful in restaurants when trying to pick what to order, or when you need to make a quick decision about something small. The premise of the rule is simple - don’t filter the answer. I would 100% recommend trying it next time you’re deciding what to eat (to be clear, I’m not recommending using the rule when it comes to big life decisions!).
One area where I do think it would be helpful to apply this rule is in prayer.
This week we’re looking at the example children set for us in faith, and practices we could learn from kids, and today we’re focusing on their boldness in prayer.
When we as adults pray, we add filters. Filters like ‘what’s a good thing to say’, ‘how does this make me look and sound’ and ‘what will God think of me’. Filters are of course helpful in some settings but the Bible is clear we don’t need filters with God.
The wonderful thing about children is that they pray without filters. They say what they’re really thinking, and they pray for what they really want.
The wild truth is that God knows our thoughts, our desires and our longings, and he sees the filters and the fluff we add to our prayers. So, my challenge for you today is to sit with God in prayer and tell him what you really want. Don’t overthink it, don’t filter it, pray your ‘first thought, best thought’ prayers. Talk to God how you imagine a five-year-old who’s talking to their father would talk, and see what God does!
Response: Take some time today to be real with God. Sit and apply the ‘first thought best thought rule’. Don’t tell God what you think he wants to hear! As Paul tells us, tell God what you need. And what you really need!
