We are a busy people.
Most days our feet hit the floor running, and we continue in that mode until our head hits the pillow at night. Some days we feel accomplished. Other days, exhausted.
Are we too busy?
There is a world of difference between being busy and being hurried.
Being busy is an outward condition that occurs when we have many things to do. By itself, busyness is not lethal.
Being hurried is an inner condition, a condition of the soul. It means to be so preoccupied with myself and my life that I am unable to be fully present with God, myself, and with other people.
Busyness migrates to hurry when we let it squeeze God out of our lives.
This is the more important question. Am I too hurried?
Has my busyness squeezed out time with God? Before my hit head the pillow for the night, had I spent time with Him? If not, busyness has migrated to hurry.
On those days when I can, I must make time – chunks of time – for engaging in spiritual practices such a prayer, Bible reading, solitude, and soul-reflection. Rather than viewing these as draining obligations or items on a checklist, I need to see them as opportunities that connect me to God, His grace, His energy, and His joy.
And on those days when it’s just not possible to carve out large blocks of time, I still must make time for engaging with God through the spiritual practices – however I am able.
Over the next few weeks as we head into the holiday season, we’re going to explore some ways to engage in certain of the spiritual practices, even on the busiest of days. This week we will begin our journey with seven ideas for praying even on the busiest days.
Never Too Busy to Pray
Begin your day with prayer.
Before your feet hit the floor and you take off running, pray. Even if only a line or two, begin your day in His presence. Thank Him for the sleep, for waking you, for the day that lies ahead. Acknowledge His presence. Invite Him into your day.
Set an alarm.
Schedule prayer. That’s right; schedule it! How many have found that in the busyness of life, things like date nights and family time needed to be scheduled in order to be sure they happened? We know that in order to keep our earthly relationships strong, time together is a must. So, we put these opportunities for togetherness on the calendar.
To keep our relationship with our Heavenly Father strong, we must spend time with Him. Put the opportunity on your calendar (or in your phone).
Pray as you live.
Examine your life. Spend a few days paying attention to how your days are being spent. Then look for places where you can pray as you live – standing in line at the grocery store, sitting in the after-school car line, doing the laundry, walking the dog, drinking your morning coffee.
Discover a way of praying that connects with your God-wiring.
It is a fact that we make time for what we enjoy/value. How did God wire you? Do you feel ever-so-close to Him while watching a sunset or hiking through the mountains? Then get outside in the beauty of nature and pray. Are you a contemplative? Find a quiet spot for meditative prayer.
Whisper breath prayers.
Short and easy. Breath prayers are simple prayers that can be spoken in a single breath and repeated numerous times throughout your day. They help cultivate a “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) habit.
Breath prayers can be as simple as “Father, let me feel your presence,” “Jesus, my One and Only,” Holy God, guide me,” and “Jesus.”
Identify triggers.
A “trigger” is something that initiates or precipitates.
Think about your life, pay attention. Then identify meaningful prayer triggers. For instance, folding laundry might serve as a trigger to pray for the wearers of the laundry. Other triggers could include someone’s favorite song, the smell of coffee, walking past someone’s door, cooking dinner, the sound of an ambulance, saying good-bye to a loved one, the sight of someone’s pet. A prayer trigger can be anything, really!
Pray at bedtime.
End your day as you began it. Again, even if only a line or two, before you drop off to sleep, acknowledge God, thank Him, rest in His presence. Eliminate the hurry.
Nothing will influence the next generation more than our prayers. Praying with Purpose gives us a wonderful road map for enjoying and sharing a focused and creative prayer life. Included in the book are many creative and real world methods for a variety of different types of prayer and prayer topics.
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18 comments
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AprilNelson25
I love this list of ways to pray. Excellent reminders for me about prayer triggers, I need to add some more triggers to my days. Thank you so much for sharing your heart for prayer with us!! Coming to you from your Grace & Truth featured post with Maree Dee’s post!
blessedreject
Thank you Deborah, this was a lovely and gentle encouragement and so practical also.
Prayer and Supplication & Our Grace and Truth Link Up
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Barbara Harper
These are great ideas. I also try to pray for prayer requests immediately when I hear them–a missionary email prayer letter, a friend’s request on FaceBook, etc.
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Jana Carlson
Excellent list of suggestions. Prayer should never be a “have to”, but a “get to”. And yet, so often it gets bumped further and further down the priority list until it almost disappears. Something so wonderful about God is that He’s always there and always listening, ready and waiting to commune with us. Even if it’s just a single sentence at a time. That I don’t take advantage of this Truth more often is one of my greatest frustrations.
Long before I knew anything about prayer triggers or the struggle of praying continually, I prayed before falling asleep every single night. It was a habit so deeply ingrained in me that I simply could not fall asleep without talking to God first. I think I lost that habit in the days of newborn baby nighttime chaos. But you’ve reminded me of it today. Time to get back to it!
Colleen Swindoll-Thompson
Pray as you live… that is a good way to put it. I do this, but didn’t really have words on how to describe it.
mareedee2016
I too love the prayer triggers. I used to have a few but they have somehow disappeared. I am going to start some new ones. Thank you for sharing with Grace & Truth Link-Up I loved your article.
Blessings,
maree
Heather Hart
I think praying as we live is a big one for me. We can pray in the car, driving down the street. While we stand at the sink washing dishes. We can pause while writing a blog post to say a word of prayer. Anytime really. And it really does make all the difference. (Full disclosure: I’m not saying I always do it, I’m just saying it’s a great idea.)
Angela Johnson
This was great! I love the idea of prayer triggers. I never really thought of them like that. I love to pray while on my morning walk and in my car. I am pinning and sharing this.
Deborah
Just replied to your email, Maree!
mareedee2016
Hi Deborah – I just sent you an email. Maree
Deborah
I know what you mean, Maree. As I was writing the article, a few of my own former triggers came to mind. I love that in Him we can always begin again ❤️.
Deborah
Heather, I had to chuckle at your full disclosure. Isn’t that the truth for all of us? Thanks for stopping by and sharing your heart with us.
Deborah
Angela, I found found triggers to be so helpful in many ways. Glad the idea resonated with you. Thanks for pinning and sharing.