RE: "[W]e are blessed by the fact that we do not need to reinvent prayer."

Certainly many of us have also been blessed by praying extemporaneously with family members and friends about the particular people we love or about wider matters of concern, or at church about the particular decisions at hand at the beginning of a leadership meeting.

In my small group Bible study, it is a joy to routinely close with a time of extemporaneous prayer. The prayer of one brother or sister may sound confident and eloquent; the prayer of another may sound awkward and simple. No matter. As we each take a moment to unclasp our hearts to God -- conveying a request or an expression of thanks in our own words within one another's hearing -- trust and understanding grow and gratitude for our fellowship in the Lord increases.

Printed prayer materials can certainly be useful and often are. But also, “[t]he word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:8). And whether our speech is fluid or halting, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf in ways that none of us is able to express (Romans 8:26-27).