My husband had a habit that I used to find both adorable and slightly obsessive. He had saved voicemails from all our kids when they were little—messages that were nothing extraordinary. Just simple, sweet words like, “Goodnight, Dad” or “Dad, I was just calling to say goodnight. Okay… goodnight.” Each child had their own little message, and whenever the house was quiet, he would sit and listen to them. Over. And over. And over. So much so that I, too, had memorized every single one of them.
And then one day, the unthinkable happened. He got a new phone.
Did he back them up? No. Did he save them to the cloud? No. And just like that, those precious little voices were gone.
We laugh about it now, but he still tells me how much he misses those messages. Those little check-ins from our kids meant everything to him, and even though they were simple, they were treasured.
And that got me thinking—our Heavenly Father is the same way.
Psalm 116:1-2 says, “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.” Can we just sit in that truth for a moment? God bends down to listen. The King of Kings leans in to hear from you—not because your prayers are always profound or eloquent, but because He loves the sound of your voice.
Sometimes we hesitate to pray because we think we have to come with the perfect words or the perfect attitude. But what if God just wants to hear from us, even if all we can manage is, “Goodnight, Lord”?
What if, instead of waiting until we have something deep and theological to say, we just whispered, “God, I’m tired, but I love You.” Or “Hey God, today was hard, but thank You for being with me.” Or “I don’t even know what to say, but I just needed to check in.”
Our prayers don’t have to be grand speeches. Sometimes, the most beautiful prayers are the ones where we’re just honest with our Father. Because He’s not waiting for a perfect performance—He’s just waiting for us.
So today, don’t overthink it. Just talk to Him. He treasures every word. And unlike my husband’s voicemails, He never loses a single one.
Go ahead—tell God goodnight. He’s listening.
