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PROGRAM D-7985
I want to challenge you to become intentional about praying at all times about everything—simply talking to God all day long. He is with you at all times, so why not take advantage of that and talk to him at all times?
One of the difficulties we have with praying at all times is that our lives are full of distractions. In fact, during the last few decades, this has become an increasingly real issue. In addition to praying with our eyes wide open through our entire day, busy or not, we do need times when we put the distractions aside and turn them off while we communicate with God.
It is not uncommon for me to work on my computer at home. Having it there along with all my work and a busy schedule, I am often found sitting in my home with a computer in my lap, working, surfing the internet, Facebooking, or something. My husband will begin a conversation with me, which I catch maybe halfway through because I am distracted by my computer. He often says, “Can you just put that away for a minute so I can talk to you?”
I wonder how often God thinks the same thing about me. “Mary, can you just put those distractions aside long enough to give me your full attention, talk to me, and listen to me?” Honestly, I think we have to be even more proactive today in guarding and keeping our prayer time with God than in former days because there are so many gadgets all around us—making noise, interrupting our thoughts, and demanding our attention.
A few years ago, our pastor challenged us to turn off all electronics for three days. Unless our work demanded it, we were asked to turn off televisions, radios, computers, smart phones—the things that demand so much of our attention during a normal day. This was not easy to do at first! The silence was deafening. But all of us who took part in this agreed that we came to love the quietness; it actually reduced our stress to turn sound off. Of course, it also gave us more opportunities to communicate with the Lord, to recognize his presence, and keep the conversation going with him.
Praying at all times is learning to pray in the midst of our busy lives—in crowded places and public arenas. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, it is learning to “. . . pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).