6:00 PM
I have been thinking. I usually don’t share these kinds of thoughts except in weekly articles, but for some reason I felt like I should. I have always struggled with structured prayer. A friend mentioned to me this week that they are setting aside extra time to pray. It always bothers me a little because I am never successful at in. My “God time” is mostly invested in Bible reading and meditation. Prayer is what happens throughout the rest of my day or just when I need it.
Today it occurred to me that I think prayer is like breathing. I have a hard time setting time aside for it because I think it ought to be natural and something that I never have to think about. It just happens because I need it to live and it is who I am. It is the source of life in my life and I cannot go without it. I know I don’t literally pray without ceasing, but I do wish I lived my life as a constant prayer.
It occurred to me today that our breathing changes as we go about our daily activities. It changes according to what we are doing – heavy, light, fast, slow – but we always do it. Then it also occurred to me that a good athlete might take time to just focus on their breathing. Someone who was trying to calm their emotions may just focus on their breathing. People trying to clear their head might focus on their breathing.
Maybe when I am working on praying in a structured or disciplined way instead of simply as a constant conversation, I ought to think of it as simply focusing on my breathing. I find it so awkward to pray verbally upon “command”. Maybe if I thought about it as an exercise in improving my breathing intentionally so it would always be better unintentionally throughout the day, this would work better for me. Hmmm…
So tonight I will work on focusing on my breathing.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. John 17