Do you feel guilty because your prayer life takes a back seat to your busy life? What if you are a person for whom sitting still and praying takes more energy than jogging five miles? Simple problem solved: Pray as you go.
Headed for the gym? Going out for a jog? Put your ear phones on, turn the music down low, and use the motion of your body as a rhythm for prayer. Talk to God in your thoughts as if he was right beside you. Praise him for his creation and the ability to move your body. Discuss your day with him. Give him your concerns. Let him be your exercise partner.
Add a friend. For many years a friend and I would pray and walk together every Sunday morning at 5:00. Another friend helped me renovate my son’s room, and we prayed together as we rolled green paint across the walls.
Pray as you do the tasks that don’t take much concentration. I pray when I’m driving around running errands and when I’m cleaning the bathtub. The Celtic Christians were great at this type of praying—see my post on The Celtic Art of Knitting Work and Prayer Together.
Pray quick prayers for people as you encounter them throughout the day. This keeps you in a positive mood when the stresses people create threaten your peace. A short blessing spoken over a child as he leaves for school or a quick silent prayer for a co-worker add up to a lot of daily prayer!
Begin and end your day with a pillow prayer. When you first wake up in the morning and before you ever lift your head from the pillow, ask the Lord to oversee the events of your day. As you lay your head down on your pillow at the end of the day, thank God for five things that happened in your day.
I’d love to hear your suggestions for “on the go praying” in the comment section below. Join us next week as we continue this six post series on Exploring Different Avenues of Prayer.
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
This Post Has 6 Comments
In a “crisis” prayer time, I assign a household task to praying for that concern…like, every time I wash down the counters or table…that request is on my heart and I pray…If the burden does not lift…just keep going. ( floors, bathroom…LOL) This works well for the daily reminders of constant prayer for a loved one.
What a great idea, Pati. Pray and clean–I’ll bet your house stays really neat and tidy. I like the idea of assigning a task to a prayer need. It really is an ideal way to be in constant prayer. I’m sure my husband will want me to put your suggestion into practice. Thanks!
Good reminder. Pray a blessing on those who spitefully use you, even next door. Mercy shown is what we expect of our Lord, though it is hard in the face of curses and splattered eggs. Lord have mercy.
Four years ago our daughter was in a bad auto accident and her back was broken in 4 places. By the grace of God, and prayer, her life was spared (they called a code in ER when she stopped breathing), and she wasn’t paralyzed. She was taken to the only hospital in Santa Maria that our county’s CSMP program would cover bills for- many miracles. We didn’t even know she was injured until hours after it happened. Someone was praying!
Now whenever I hear sirens, I always take a moment to say a prayer for those injured or endangered, to loose angels to go to the rescue, & for the emergency workers responding. Just giving back what someone gave to us and our daughter.
Lilly, your post brought all kinds of visual images to my mind as to what might be going on with your neighbors! I guess I don’t think much about mercy until it is needed. Thanks for the heads up.
Lora, I can’t imagine what that experience must have been like for you–emotionally and spiritually. Thank you for sharing it with us. I pray when I hear a siren too, but now I will do so with more understanding, thanks to your input.
I am on a couple of prayer loops and often see requests to pray by Facebook friends. Because I AM one of those busy types who has trouble “sitting still” to pray, I find that if I pray right then about the request rather than wait for a scheduled prayer time, I am more faithful to pray and to address the felt need as communicated in the request.
Do you ever wake up at night and wonder “what am I doing awake?” When that happens to me, I ask God to bring to mind someone who needs prayer. Somestimes it’s my husband working a graveyeard shift. Other times one of our kids. Lately it’s been my aging parents. But regardless of who it’s for–once I pray–I can go right back to sleep. I guess during these night watches I’m not really “on the go” but I’m still “on the job!” Thank the Lord that he doesn’t ever slumber or sleep.