Prayer in Daily Life or a Daily Life of Prayer?

 

    Setting aside the same time each day to pray, joining a prayer group at a regular time for prayer, or meeting with a prayer partner weekly are ways adults practice the spiritual discipline of prayer. Adults become very skilled at setting aside time in their busy schedules to pray and then checking it off their daily list of things to do.

    Driving with a carload of family, the adults were chatting away oblivious to sounds outside the vehicle when loud and clear my 3-year-old grandson prayed, “Dear God, take care of the people and the firemen. Amen.” At that point the adults’ attention was drawn to the sirens and everyone said, “Yes Lord, be with everyone involved.”

     Children are much more spontaneous than adults and they often can lead us in prayer. They are not so concerned about having the right words or timing, the right posture or audience. As nurturers, we need to support that spontaneity, so they maintain it throughout their faith lives. Spontaneously pray over a cut finger or as the child exits the door for school. Ask the child to pray when you cut your finger or are off to an important meeting. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God as you change a diaper or prepare a lunch. These acts of making prayer your daily life, rather than a part of your daily life, help children maintain that spontaneous prayer life. It also helps your prayer life.

    My husband and I, whoever was in the driver’s seat, made a practice of praying for safe journeys every time we got into the car. I never thought about this until my son, now grown, packed us in the car for a trip and prayed before he started the motor.

 God is listening all day and night. Are we praying all day and night?

  Dear God, We set aside time for prayer in our daily lives and think that is enough.                            

Help us instead to set aside our daily lives for prayer. Amen.

Blessings,

Lynne Pabst