PRAY AT ALL TIMES
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
How consistent are you in your prayer life? There’s no one else around to impress, so be honest. Would you say that prayer is a priority for you or more of an afterthought? Too often, we only turn to prayer when the chips are down as more of a last resort. But God wants us to communicate with Him all the time.
You may fall into the trap of believing what you’re experiencing isn’t important enough to bother God with. You’re never a bother to your heavenly Father! He loves you and thinks about you more each day than you can possibly imagine (see Psalm 139:17-18). What you might consider too mundane or trivial to take to God is important to Him because you are important to Him.
You might also just be too busy. Between work and family and social obligations, you’re just feeling overwhelmed. How could you possibly carve out a set time to dedicate to just praying? First, we often have more time that we could optimize than we’d care to admit. Case in point, the average American spends four and a half hours each day on their phone. So perhaps we scroll a little less and pray a little more?
But we also don’t have to only pray when we can shut the rest of the world out and retreat to our prayer closet. We can pray at all times. When you’re heading to work—pray. When you’re cooking dinner or tending to the garden—pray. As you spend time with a family member—pray for them. While you wait for your oil to get changed or for the line at the grocery store to dwindle—pray. There’s a ton of time we can redeem or redirect to make prayer an ongoing rhythm in our day.
APPLICATION:
Take stock of your daily schedule. When can you carve out some specific time with no distractions to pray? In addition, what are some times you can repurpose to include prayer? While getting ready in the morning? Morning commute? Lunch break? Ask God to help you find time to prioritize prayer.
PRAYER:
Father, help me to prioritize my communication with You. You long to hear from me, and I need to hear from You. Please help me to redeem the time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?