Be...devoted to prayer.
Romans 12:12
{Continuing focusing on peace and rest this week while I'm away. This archived post on prayer just what I need today!}
I wake up to a house full of kids clamoring for breakfast before I form my first coherent thought. I spend my day amid their constant chatter, demands, needs and excitement. I spend at least an hour a night cajoling them into their beds a midst last requests for water and begging for just 10 more minutes of play time. I sit down to spend a few moments with my husband and fall asleep almost immediately.
God calls us to prayer - a life devoted to prayer. I look around at the chaos and wonder just how I can shoe-horn it in.I know first hand how a soul can long for a quiet, peaceful moment of prayer, and how quickly one can tire without it.
I also know that 2 quiet moments to devote to prayer may as well be a retreat in the Bahamas...not likely to happen any time soon.
The frustration of trying to make my vision of a vibrant prayer life a reality in during my real life days can lead me far - off mark. I think "well if I didn't have so many children..." or "well maybe one day when I'm not so busy..." and continue to dry myself out in the process.
God called me to this life. He gave me these kids, this exact amount of time, these 3 loads of laundry a day, that sink full of dishes. He knows I can't dart of to the quiet of a chapel whenever the mood strikes, or even hole up in my room for a few moments of solitude. Yet He still calls me - Be devoted to prayer.
I know what it means. It means prayer is to be worn on my day like the clothes I slip on - right next to my skin. I know it means that kneeling next to a garden box or while scrubbing the floor can be the closest I get to a kneeler in church, but to accept it anyway. I know that it means that even in this crowd of noisy youngsters, my soul can seek out peace in offering each moment up as prayer. And I know that, when I'm out watering the garden, my petitions can go up just the same - and a torrent of grace can water me, too.
This is the secret to vibrant prayer for busy moms: Pray without ceasing, wherever you are. Put on prayer like a garment and wear it all day long. Offer up each thought and moment, and be blessed.
5 Tips to Vibrant Prayer
Decompress - just talk about your day. I say a lot of "Dear Lord Jesus, give me the strength to show love to these crazy little people!"
Repeat - it is ok to keep repeating yourself. It helps you meditate on what you are saying, petitioning, giving thanks for and of course Who it is you are adoring.
Confess - give voice to your failings. Naming your wrongs can give you the motivation to change.
Sing - many of my prayers are songs playing around in my head - worship songs, hymns, sometimes even blue grass country music. Sing it out or keep it inside, but give it all to Him.
Memorize - Do you have scripture memorized? (Psst: we are working on bible memory here this summer. Check out this easy and painless method from Charlotte Mason.) Repeat your scripture memory during your prayer time. Or if your denomination has a liturgy that you have memorized, or special prayers, go ahead and say those. Sometimes I'll be folding laundry and mentally saying the Glory Be or the Lord's Prayer over and over again in my head.
How do you fit meaningful prayer into your life?
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