5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: Why Should I Pray? | 5 Minutes With Jesus | July 1, 2026
- Prayer is our lifeline.
- 00:00:00.156 --> 00:00:02.459
- Prayer transforms us by making us better boys
- 00:00:02.459 --> 00:00:06.329
- And girls in god's presence, as my grandfather alluded to.
- 00:00:06.329 --> 00:00:09.399
- And by better, i mean we remember what is true
- 00:00:09.399 --> 00:00:13.002
- As opposed to what may appear to be true in the moment.
- 00:00:13.002 --> 00:00:16.239
- I think of better in the context of having our vision focused
- 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:20.110
- And our hearing fine tuned as we come face to face with a god
- 00:00:20.110 --> 00:00:24.781
- Who can move not only mountains, but our own hearts.
- 00:00:24.781 --> 00:00:33.857
- I've got a question for you.
- 00:00:34.424 --> 00:00:35.859
- Does prayer really change us?
- 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:39.195
- Both of my grandfathers died before i was born,
- 00:00:39.195 --> 00:00:41.397
- But my mom tells a story about her father.
- 00:00:41.397 --> 00:00:43.766
- I think it's hilarious.
- 00:00:43.766 --> 00:00:45.535
- From what i understand, my grandfather was a hard
- 00:00:45.535 --> 00:00:48.037
- Working man with a very simple faith.
- 00:00:48.037 --> 00:00:50.573
- At mealtimes,
- 00:00:50.573 --> 00:00:51.841
- His standard grace was always for what we're about to receive.
- 00:00:51.841 --> 00:00:55.278
- May the lord make us truly thankful.
- 00:00:55.278 --> 00:00:58.081
- But on one particular occasion,
- 00:00:58.081 --> 00:00:59.883
- When they were having missionary guests for lunch after church,
- 00:00:59.883 --> 00:01:03.153
- My nana asked him to embellish the usual blessing a bit.
- 00:01:03.153 --> 00:01:07.423
- Well,
- 00:01:07.423 --> 00:01:08.258
- He must have forgotten her request
- 00:01:08.258 --> 00:01:09.359
- Because he started out as he always did.
- 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:11.995
- For what we're about to see.
- 00:01:11.995 --> 00:01:13.730
- May the lord. because truly thankful.
- 00:01:13.730 --> 00:01:16.199
- I'm pretty sure my grandmother kicked him
- 00:01:16.199 --> 00:01:17.834
- Under the table at that point
- 00:01:17.834 --> 00:01:19.135
- Because my mom said there was a noticeable pause
- 00:01:19.135 --> 00:01:21.804
- Before he added, and make me a good boy.
- 00:01:21.804 --> 00:01:25.041
- Amen.
- 00:01:25.041 --> 00:01:26.242
- At this point,
- 00:01:26.242 --> 00:01:27.143
- My granddad must have been in his 60s,
- 00:01:27.143 --> 00:01:29.078
- But i guess that's the only other prayer
- 00:01:29.078 --> 00:01:31.114
- He could remember from his childhood.
- 00:01:31.114 --> 00:01:33.416
- My nana wanted my granddad to come up with a few more
- 00:01:33.416 --> 00:01:36.653
- Impressive words, but i am convinced that the words we use
- 00:01:36.653 --> 00:01:41.124
- Are of less interest to god than the intent of our hearts.
- 00:01:41.124 --> 00:01:44.961
- God hears our heart no matter the words we use.
- 00:01:44.961 --> 00:01:48.131
- But my grandfather's simple, if unexpected prayer
- 00:01:48.131 --> 00:01:52.202
- Begs the question, let me ask.
- 00:01:52.202 --> 00:01:54.337
- Does the actual act of prayer, of throwing ourselves
- 00:01:54.337 --> 00:01:57.740
- On the mercy and grace of god changes?
- 00:01:57.740 --> 00:02:00.944
- Was there like a kernel of truth and my granddad's
- 00:02:00.944 --> 00:02:04.013
- Faltering prayer?
- 00:02:04.013 --> 00:02:05.281
- That just being in god's presence we become better
- 00:02:05.281 --> 00:02:09.485
- Boys and girls?
- 00:02:09.485 --> 00:02:11.120
- I think one of the most powerful books in the bible to support
- 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.957
- And perhaps answer that question is the book of job.
- 00:02:13.957 --> 00:02:17.961
- I base that assertion on this one verse.
- 00:02:17.961 --> 00:02:21.497
- My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.
- 00:02:21.497 --> 00:02:26.169
- That's in chapter 42.
- 00:02:26.169 --> 00:02:28.171
- This is a very short sentence in a very long book,
- 00:02:28.171 --> 00:02:31.574
- But for me it contains the whole point of job story.
- 00:02:31.574 --> 00:02:36.246
- Job says,
- 00:02:36.246 --> 00:02:37.313
- And this is my paraphrase, god and knew about you
- 00:02:37.313 --> 00:02:40.049
- Before i knew all the marvelous things you've done.
- 00:02:40.049 --> 00:02:43.286
- But now that i've been in the ring
- 00:02:43.286 --> 00:02:45.221
- With you for several rounds, i have a completely different
- 00:02:45.221 --> 00:02:48.625
- Kind of relationship with you
- 00:02:48.625 --> 00:02:50.059
- And a new understanding of your greatness.
- 00:02:50.059 --> 00:02:54.197
- That's one of the many things i find
- 00:02:54.197 --> 00:02:57.000
- Interesting and fascinating about jobs story.
- 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:59.969
- He's described in such glowing
- 00:02:59.969 --> 00:03:02.005
- Terms at the beginning of the story,
- 00:03:02.005 --> 00:03:04.007
- And yet admits he didn't know god the way he does now.
- 00:03:04.007 --> 00:03:07.243
- So this is not the story
- 00:03:07.243 --> 00:03:08.544
- Of a treacherous man who encountered god
- 00:03:08.544 --> 00:03:10.780
- And was converted by the experience.
- 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:13.316
- It's a story of a godly man who, through tragedy
- 00:03:13.316 --> 00:03:16.686
- And very bitter dialog
- 00:03:16.686 --> 00:03:18.254
- With god, came to a whole new understanding of who god is.
- 00:03:18.254 --> 00:03:22.492
- In other words,
- 00:03:22.492 --> 00:03:23.593
- He wasn't a man who was changed from bad to good.
- 00:03:23.593 --> 00:03:27.764
- He was a man changed from good to having a profoundly
- 00:03:27.764 --> 00:03:31.701
- Personal relationship with the god of the universe.
- 00:03:31.701 --> 00:03:35.371
- It's kind of
- 00:03:35.672 --> 00:03:36.873
- Almost as if god pulled back the curtain a little to let jobs
- 00:03:36.873 --> 00:03:39.175
- See the bigger picture.
- 00:03:39.175 --> 00:03:41.177
- And i think that's what honest prayer does for us all.
- 00:03:41.177 --> 00:03:44.447
- When we feel we have to be careful with god,
- 00:03:44.447 --> 00:03:47.617
- We've missed how profoundly we're loved.
- 00:03:47.617 --> 00:03:50.853
- Job went toe to toe with god, and rather than offend
- 00:03:50.853 --> 00:03:54.657
- God, he was commended for his honesty
- 00:03:54.657 --> 00:03:57.360
- And to his friends who brought no comfort at all
- 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.496
- With their judgment, attitudes, and religious answers.
- 00:04:00.496 --> 00:04:03.599
- God said, i'm angry with you and your two friends, for
- 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:07.036
- You have not spoken accurately about me as my servant.
- 00:04:07.036 --> 00:04:10.773
- Job has become of all sorts of knowledge
- 00:04:10.773 --> 00:04:14.644
- About god, things we've heard from others or at church,
- 00:04:14.644 --> 00:04:17.680
- But that is a poor substitute for having an honest,
- 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:21.484
- Gut level prayer life that leads to a life
- 00:04:21.484 --> 00:04:24.487
- Changing personal relationship that changes us completely.
- 00:04:24.487 --> 00:04:29.158
- So prayer is our lifeline.
- 00:04:29.158 --> 00:04:31.861
- Prayer transforms us by making us better boys
- 00:04:31.861 --> 00:04:35.732
- And girls in god's presence, as my grandfather alluded to.
- 00:04:35.732 --> 00:04:38.801
- And by better, i mean we remember what is true
- 00:04:38.801 --> 00:04:42.405
- As opposed to what may appear to be true in the moment.
- 00:04:42.405 --> 00:04:45.641
- I think of better in the context of having our vision focused
- 00:04:45.641 --> 00:04:49.512
- And our hearing fine tuned as we come face to face with a god
- 00:04:49.512 --> 00:04:54.183
- Who can move not only mountains, but our own hearts.
- 00:04:54.183 --> 00:04:59.222
- Let's pray.
- 00:04:59.555 --> 00:05:01.391
- God, it's amazing to me
- 00:05:01.924 --> 00:05:03.893
- That in the end, you command job,
- 00:05:03.893 --> 00:05:06.996
- Even though he has been so furious,
- 00:05:06.996 --> 00:05:09.132
- Wished he was dead, gone through all sorts.
- 00:05:09.132 --> 00:05:11.367
- But you've recognized the honest struggling of someone
- 00:05:11.367 --> 00:05:15.204
- Who is trying to understand who you are.
- 00:05:15.204 --> 00:05:18.408
- And lord,
- 00:05:18.408 --> 00:05:19.409
- I think most of us could admit that at times
- 00:05:19.409 --> 00:05:22.245
- We've struggled with things that didn't make sense.
- 00:05:22.245 --> 00:05:24.714
- But it's our earnest desire to know you the way job did that
- 00:05:24.714 --> 00:05:29.285
- We could say, well,
- 00:05:29.285 --> 00:05:30.586
- I'd heard a lot about you, but now i've seen you face to face.
- 00:05:30.586 --> 00:05:34.157
- We ask it in jesus name. amen.
- 00:05:34.157 --> 00:05:34.157
