PRAY: Anywhere, Anytime
I participate in an online professional writers’ group. Every Monday and Thursday, panelists ask questions and group members respond. It’s a fun way to gain fresh insights and different perspectives from people in various facets of the writing and publishing world.
A recent question asked about our favorite “perk” of the writing business. Some writers love the travel and excitement of research. Others enjoy setting their own hours and working from home. Still others mentioned the opportunities their writing brings them to touch lives and impact God’s kingdom.
In an uncharacteristic burst of spontaneity, I wrote down the first perk that came to my mind. I love the fact that, as a writer, I can work when I’m not (technically) working. I can think up ideas or brainstorm an article while I’m walking in my neighborhood, driving down the road, or waiting for an appointment. And as I contemplated a new PRAY post, I realized—that’s what I love about prayer, too.
Why do we think we must find a particular position, posture, or place to pray? Jesus showed us that common places can be holy ones. As we read about Him in the Gospels, we don’t see Him walking in royal robes or inhabiting a king’s palace. Instead, He seems to prefer the lowly places: a manger, a fishing boat, a rough wooden table. His presence brings holiness to what we consider normal or everyday.
That’s what He does in our lives, too. When we’re talking to a coworker in the office hallway, driving kids to a ball game, or filling our cart at the grocery store, we have the opportunity to encounter God in prayer. Of course, we can meet Him there just as we meet him in the quietness of a church sanctuary or the silence of our morning devotional time.
Ask God to help you see some of your ordinary moments as moments of prayer. As you approach Him, He may surprise you with the way he turns the humble into the holy and the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Pray. Don’t buy the lie that says you must wait for a special moment or a certain place. Each minute and every location is holy because He’s there, waiting for you. Start talking!
Pray without ceasing. I love that. I send up what I call “byte” prayers all the time – short and to the point. I have extended times with God, but since He’s with me all the time, I see no reason not to chat in the car, under the hair dryer, hiking. Actually…come to think of it…He hears from me a lot while I’m in the car…
LOL. When we lived in California I realized how much the road/driving enhanced my prayer life. And you’re right; this seems like such a basic principle but it’s surprising how many of us wait to pray until conditions are “perfect.” Such a tool of the enemy!