The Christian Working Woman - Praying At All Times – 5

I’ve been challenging you to become intentional about praying at all times about everything. Just talking to God all day long. He’s 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, and in the last few decades, that 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. It’s there, all my work is there, so I am often found sitting in my home with a computer in my lap, working or surfing the internet or texting or something. When my husband was alive, he would begin a conversation with me, which I would catch maybe halfway through because I was distracted by my computer. And he often said, “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 and talk to me and listen to me?” Honestly, I think we have to be even more proactive 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, 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, all the things that demand so much of our attention in a normal day. Let me tell you, it was not easy to do at first. The silence was deafening. But those who took part in this agreed that we came to love the quietness and it reduced our stress. Of course, it gave us more opportunities to communicate with the Lord, to recognize his presence, and keep the conversation going with him. So, 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).