When you think of the word “prayer,” what comes to mind? To be on your knees with your eyes closed and your face turned reverently towards the sky? Praying for an hour or more? “Prepare” spiritually through a religious ritual like the ACTS formula (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication)?
Or when you pray, do you hang out with God in friendship and talk to him for a few minutes, openly sharing your heart?
This is the way I pray, and I encourage you to do it too. Jesus is not only my Savior, my Deliverer, my King, but also my best Friend. When I pray, I simply speak to Him and He speaks to me. It’s a conversation, an intimate relationship between us, like having a cup of good coffee with a friend (or if you’re not a coffee drinker, think about your favorite drink).
You don’t have to pray for hours every day or adopt a certain physical posture to pray. You don’t have to be all “clean” to pray. The blood that Jesus Christ shed for you on Calvary was enough; God is the one who cleanses you through the redemptive and accomplished work of Jesus over 2000 years ago.
You don’t have to wait in long lines or stand on hold for ten minutes after dialing 1, 2, 4 or 7 on your phone to reach the right person’s extension.
God doesn’t take vacations and doesn’t have call waiting. He already has you written down each day in his Agenda-He’s just waiting to BE with you!
In just a few minutes a day, you can get closer to God. Many people are condemned because they think they are “supposed” to pray for at least an hour every day or hour, or just for the first part of the morning, you know, “like Jesus did.”
The Bible gives examples of Jesus going alone early in the morning to the mountains or other lonely places to pray. But that doesn’t mean He ONLY prayed early in the morning. God doesn’t close the gates of heaven at 9 am with a big sign: “You missed me! Try again tomorrow before sunrise!”
God loves you very much and is ALWAYS there for you, eager to hear from you. Song of Songs 2:14 says: “My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the rocks, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is beautiful.”
Did you find out what? God says your voice is SWEET and your face is LOVELY to Him! God is crazy about you. He is there for you at 4 pm or midnight, ready to spend some quality time with you. You don’t have to be a morning person. I’m certainly not (and really cheerful morning people get on my nerves, lol!).
Many times my time with God is late at night, just before I go to bed. Your devotional time with God can be whenever you can get away from Him. He made you with your internal clock; He understands you! So he prays at night. Then sleep well. God doesn’t need to! In fact, He is up all night watching over the people from him. Psalm 121:4 says, “The protector of Israel never slumbers or drowses.” What a relief that God is not up in the sky, snoring while the whole world is thrown into chaos!
God can’t wait to talk to you, no matter what time it is. You can pray at the kitchen counter while you prepare the little ones’ lunches. You can pray in the afternoon while you lie down for a nap. You can pray before going to bed after a long and exhausting day. You can pray at 2 am while breastfeeding the baby.
You can pray driving down the highway on your way through rush hour traffic. You can pray in the shower, go for a walk, or mow the lawn. You can pray sitting, lying down, kneeling, walking, running, dancing, jumping, mopping, skipping, shopping, rapping, whatever!
The point is simply to have consistent time every day with God. Talking to Him as if you were a friend. All that matters is that you develop that intimate relationship with him through daily prayer, studying his word, and worshiping him.
In the morning, as you prepare for your day, you can simply say a prayer of thanksgiving for a beautiful new day with His new mercies. As you iron your hair or brush your teeth, shave or fry bacon, you can dedicate the day to God and ask for his wisdom and direction in your life today.
As you pick up your husband’s dry cleaning or dirty socks from the floor, you can pray and ask God to bless your husband, to help him walk in God’s path of light and truth. As you prepare meals, you can thank God for his abundant provision and blessings, and pray for those who today have no food in the slums of America or in Third World nations, and ask God to provide for them.
As you drop the kids off at school or wave goodbye to the bus stop, or as you prepare to homeschool them, you can pray and thank God for the wonderful privilege of being a mom or dad: these precious gifts you He has given you to bless your life and give you so much joy.
When you are tired and exhausted, you can ask him for strength. When difficult times come, when you are hurting, you can call on the name of Jesus and He will be there.
You can spend a few minutes each day reading portions of the Bible or a devotional, and even memorize those verses by posting them on the bathroom mirror or repeating them throughout the day.
As you go for your daily walk or do some time on the treadmill, you can pray and thank God that you still have your health and ask Him to help you with the discipline to get fitter and healthier. Or you can just enjoy nature, drinking in this beautiful world that He made for you and me.
Prayer is simply communication with God. You are pouring out your heart to Him as Hannah did in the Bible as she prayed for a child, sharing the big and small things with Him each day. Listening to Him, that still small voice of Love. Obeying what He tells you to do. It’s like texting or emailing: instant access to the throne of God, no busy signals, no bounces!
You and I may not have an hour to carve out of our hectic and busy schedules each day to pray and read the Bible. But we have at least five minutes a day to be with Him. If time allows, we can fit even more time for prayer into our schedule.
The more time you spend with God, the more you will want to! Your hunger for him and his word will grow. Begin to make room for small chunks of time throughout the day to become aware of Jesus’ presence and to pray quietly. Telling him what’s on your mind and heart. He really cares and wants to help you and be there for you.
Listening to his instructions and his word in due time. Maybe He will speak a word of encouragement that you can give to your husband, your son, your co-worker, your neighbor, the post office woman. His presence and his Spirit anoint you to bring the good news to others. to heal the sick, to set captives free. Take up your cross, deny yourself and follow him.
God has given you a loving invitation right now to come and spend some time with Him. The door is wide open. Will you take five right now and go with Him? He is just waiting for you.