Snippets of Prayer

"While being constant in prayer is an important way of praying, this is no substitute for focused times of prayer.  For example, a husband and wife who only talk in snippets to one another throughout the day would have a shallow relationship.  You'd be business partners, not lovers.  You can't build a relationship on sound bites." -Paul Miller

Life is busy and often times the only time we make for prayers are snippets throughout the day.  Thanking God for a safe trip to work, praying for you spouse when you think about them, praying a meeting goes well, etc.  While this is good to do, when do we spend time in concentrated prayer?  When was the last time you sat in prayer for an hour?  That sounds like a long time, but only because we put everything else ahead of our relationship with God.  We can spend hours watching the Rangers game, hours on a date, hours with our kids...but an hour in prayer is difficult!

I invite you to join me in this challenge: Purposefully plan out an hour this week that you will spend in prayer and follow through with it.  Set an alarm so you don't keep looking at your watch.  Pray, listen, and just enjoy your time with God.  It might be awkward, but that is okay...most first dates are awkward, but it will get better.  After your hour, look at your daily schedule and plan a time each day where you can spend time in concentrated prayer.  It doesn't have to be an hour...just needs to be concentrated time, like 15-20 minutes.

Happy Praying!