PRAY: How to Fit Prayer into an Already Busy Life, Part 2
My dear friend,
I ran into you the other day. I noticed the faraway look in your eyes, the ever-so-slight tapping of one foot. I know you were thinking about the zillion and one items on your to-do list. Maybe you were wishing there were a way you could put me on Bluetooth and multitask the way you love to do with phone calls.
How did I know? Because I often think like that, too.
But sometimes, we need to slow down. Sometimes, we need to meet face to face.
Last week, we talked about how God’s Word informs and inspires our prayers. I want to add to that today with this week’s PrayerKeeper tip: Take time to read God’s Word with a heart of prayer.
In other words, when you read the Bible, don’t just read it. Don’t try to plan your day or pack lunches during your Bible-reading time. Instead, ask God to show you the jewels of prayer locked inside His Word. Yes, some lie glistening on the surface: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps. 51:1-2).
Other gems may even identify themselves with words like “I bow my knees,” which comes just before one of my favorite prayers in the New Testament: “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:14b, 16-19).
But some treasures reveal themselves only with time and care. When I read the story of Jacob and Esau, for example (Genesis 25-27), I pray for the many who struggle with a sibling relationship. When I read of a warrior who considered his own reputation more important than following the simple instructions passed on to him by a man of God, I pray for myself and others who, like Captain Naaman (2 Kings 5) often let pride play too great a role in our lives.
Read the Word. Ask the Father to open your eyes to the prayers, hidden and otherwise, there. And let me know what you find (or have found) in the comments below, in an email (see “Contact Me” at the top of this page), or via social media. I’d love to share in your prayer journey, and your insights will touch others as well.
For His glory,
Marti
