My wife and I were chatting about various people we know yesterday and found ourselves praying for them on the spot.
I mention it because more often we think of friends and their needs and resolve to pray for them later. And we forget.
I realize I need to make a practice of praying in the moment.
It's all part of what the apostle Paul calls "praying continually" (1Thessalonians 5:17).
On the surface, it seems an impossible task - praying all the time.
I don't think Paul meant that we were to stop doing anything but praying. But I do believe he meant we should pray often during the day - as we work, eat, and relax.
Brother Lawrence, a French monk who lived in the 17th century, said in his little classic The Practice of the Presence of God that he conversed silently with God as he washed dishes in the monastery kitchen. He kept God in his mind and adored him as he worked - and he listened to his promptings.
Many people use prayer prompts to ignite prayers as they go through the day.
Janet Benlien Reeves says in her book Parachute Prayer: The Practice of Praying Continually that she uses everyday things around the house to remind her to pray.
"As we work with various items around our homes, let's pray for their owners," she writes. "As we fold laundry, let's thank God for the ones who wear the clothes."
If she sees her husband's keys on a table, Reeves prays for him at work.
When people come to the door, she prays silently for them - sales people or friends.
She prays for political leaders whose names come up in the news.
When someone from the past edges into her mind, she prays for him or her.
She thanks God for his provision as she pays the household bills.
There are all kinds of daily reminders that can spark prayer.
Decades ago, I attended a prayer seminar where the speaker asked us to choose something we were wearing or carrying and use that as a springboard to prayer.
I was wearing a watch and thought of God as creator of time. I thought of him as eternal - beyond time. Thoughts like these can lead to worship of our great God.
As I have said before, I find walking outdoors a great way to offer prayer to God.
For example, rocks can prompt us to think of God as the "rock of our salvation", the eternal one who never changes and can always be counted on.
And shoots of green grass poking up through dead lawns in the springtime can remind us that God wants to renew us spiritually.
There is no end to prayer possibilities if we keep our eyes and our minds open.
I mention it because more often we think of friends and their needs and resolve to pray for them later. And we forget.
I realize I need to make a practice of praying in the moment.
It's all part of what the apostle Paul calls "praying continually" (1Thessalonians 5:17).
On the surface, it seems an impossible task - praying all the time.
I don't think Paul meant that we were to stop doing anything but praying. But I do believe he meant we should pray often during the day - as we work, eat, and relax.
Brother Lawrence, a French monk who lived in the 17th century, said in his little classic The Practice of the Presence of God that he conversed silently with God as he washed dishes in the monastery kitchen. He kept God in his mind and adored him as he worked - and he listened to his promptings.
Many people use prayer prompts to ignite prayers as they go through the day.
Janet Benlien Reeves says in her book Parachute Prayer: The Practice of Praying Continually that she uses everyday things around the house to remind her to pray.
"As we work with various items around our homes, let's pray for their owners," she writes. "As we fold laundry, let's thank God for the ones who wear the clothes."
If she sees her husband's keys on a table, Reeves prays for him at work.
When people come to the door, she prays silently for them - sales people or friends.
She prays for political leaders whose names come up in the news.
When someone from the past edges into her mind, she prays for him or her.
She thanks God for his provision as she pays the household bills.
There are all kinds of daily reminders that can spark prayer.
Decades ago, I attended a prayer seminar where the speaker asked us to choose something we were wearing or carrying and use that as a springboard to prayer.
I was wearing a watch and thought of God as creator of time. I thought of him as eternal - beyond time. Thoughts like these can lead to worship of our great God.
As I have said before, I find walking outdoors a great way to offer prayer to God.
For example, rocks can prompt us to think of God as the "rock of our salvation", the eternal one who never changes and can always be counted on.
And shoots of green grass poking up through dead lawns in the springtime can remind us that God wants to renew us spiritually.
There is no end to prayer possibilities if we keep our eyes and our minds open.
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