Discovering Joy: Reflections of Faith in Quarantine

Fourteen Things I've Learned About Prayer (Part 3)

7) Pray continually throughout the day.

When we read books on prayer or accounts of Christians who have been known for their prayer lives, we usually only hear about the hours that they spend in dedicated prayer. While those prayer times are important (see my thoughts on "set apart prayer time" in the next section), when we're developing prayer-muscles or we are in a particularly demanding season of life, five-second prayers are totally legitimate. They overcome the first barrier to prayer (the reluctance to start praying at all) and they direct our thoughts toward the Lord many times throughout the day. Instead of "saving up our prayers" for a particular time and place in which we can offer set-apart prayer, we see all times and places and contexts as legitimate for prayer. Many times, we see people in the Bible pray as they go, seeking that brief connection with the Lord in the midst of their activities.

There's a post that went around Facebook recently among my friends that suggests that, while men often had to go up to the temple or up to the mountaintop to meet with God, that God often came to the women: to Samson's mother, to Mary, to Mary Magdalene. That God met the women where they are. I think a case can be made for God meeting the men too (He called to Samuel, for example, and met Elijah when Elijah was hiding from Queen Jezebel).

When He offers Himself to us through prayer, we should not simply ignore Him because we have "better things to do."

You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." (Psalm 27:8)

However, the heart of God is to be in fellowship, not to shame the one who is seeking Him imperfectly.

A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. (Isaiah 42:3)

In other words, when an exhausted woman does not have a dedicated prayer time but, throughout the day, lifts her heart to the Lord in whatever quiet moments she can spare, God doesn't grumble about her lack of devotion. He receives her prayers and works on her behalf with delight, because she finds her rest in His presence, like Lazarus' sister Mary. He responds, not to her lack, but to her love.

To add a final thought to this: It is good for a husband and a wife to have dedicated time alone to themselves, to talk about their day, to connect emotionally, and to rekindle romance. This is healthy. But if that was the only time they ever spoke to one another, if there were no random conversations about anything and everything, we might wonder whether they truly do enjoy one another's company. Is their relationship relegated just to that dedicated connection time? So I think there's a place too for the randomness of conversation with God as life ebbs and flows around us.