I need more time in my life for prayer. Perhaps you do too. I know all too well the difference prayer makes in my life. It affects everything from the thoughts I think to how my body feels. For example, when I pray, I feel peaceful. My mind is more at ease and my body feels relaxed. When I don’t spend much time in prayer, I’m irritable. I’m easily discouraged and worry and anxiety creep in. The answer to this dilemma seems clear, doesn’t it? Just pray more. It sounds easy, but is it? Yes! It really is that simple. Even though our world is so busy, we can find simple ways to make time to pray throughout our day.
Prayer Knows No Boundaries
Does it matter when we pray? No! The best time to pray is anytime. Over the years, I’ve learned that my prayer life doesn’t have to be restricted to a certain time of day or to a particular length in time.
Maybe you’ve heard that morning prayer is best. I’ve heard that too. In fact, there are many places in the bible where Jesus went off to a desolate area to pray early in the morning. I won’t deny that praying in the morning helps to start my day off on the right foot when I do it. It sets my mind, heart, and attitude on Christ.
But the call to morning prayer isn’t meant to bring us down if it doesn’t work for us. If we can’t pray in the morning because there’s not enough time or we simply aren’t a ‘morning’ person, that’s ok. There’s no reason to criticize ourselves when morning prayer doesn’t happen. Instead, God wants us to be gentle with ourselves and find a time to pray that works best for us.
By the same token, the time we spend in prayer doesn’t matter either. Sometimes my prayer time is ten minutes. Other times, it’s longer. We are all unique, so why should our prayer lives look the same? Being overly concerned with the ‘right’ time to pray, or focusing on how long our prayer time should be, only hinders our ability to pray in the first place.
I find that I need daily reminders that God doesn’t want me to compare any aspect of my life, including my prayer life, to anyone else. Instead, it’s more important to focus on the truth — that I am God’s beloved daughter and he’s always happy to hear from me. Prayer is simply talking to God. It’s that simple. For this reason, prayer is possible anywhere, anytime, and in any place. There are no restrictions!
Prayer In All Seasons
We all have different seasons of life. Some of us are moms and are busy caring for young children from morning til night. Those of us, like myself with teenagers or kids in college, might have more time on our hands, but the demands on our time are still great. When I feel pressured to pray in a certain way, I remind myself that I can talk to God as I go throughout my day. This is a form of prayer. I believe that’s what St. Paul calls praying without ceasing. So, don’t get caught up in thinking that your prayer life has to be the same from day to day or has to follow a specific formula.
In the book You’re Worth It by Danielle Bean, she retells the story of the Samaritan woman at the well who encounters Jesus. Bean explains that Jesus met the woman in the midst of her day. The woman’s shame for her sinful way of living led her to go to the well in the middle of the day to avoid others. Instead, she meets Jesus. He meets her where she is — in the middle of her day — and talks to her. He wants to do the same with us. Jesus is interested in every detail of our life including the parts we’re proud of and those we aren’t. When we share our life with Him, we are praying. So, there’s no need for lengthy, rehearsed, or regimented prayers. God prefers prayers from the heart, the kind that come from being ourselves and talking to God just like we would to a trusted friend. God already knows what we need, but he wants to hear it directly from us. Think of it this way — how would we feel if our children didn’t talk to us? This is how God feels when we don’t take time to talk to Him through prayer.
10 Simple Ways to Pray Throughout your Day
It’s easy to incorporate prayer time into your day. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Below are some ways I’ve tried to incorporate more prayer into my life. Give them a try and see which ones work best for you.
- Just Say Good Morning! – If you want to try praying first thing in the morning but don’t know where to start, keep it simple. A good friend shared with me the idea of waking up each morning and saying “Good morning, Jesus.” She heard about someone who did this and it changed her life. Focusing on Jesus at the start of our day helps free our minds from regrets from yesterday, concerns about today, or worries about tomorrow. It puts us in the present moment which is always where God meets us.
- Read A Devotional – Lately, I’ve developed a habit of turning to my devotionals as a way to start my day in prayer. They always seem to have just the right message at the right time. (See below for some of my favorites.)
- Turn Your Chores into Prayer – If you’re a mom, you know how daunting daily household chores can be. When my chore time gets me down, I’ll offer my work to God as I empty the dishwasher, do laundry, clean the house, or cook dinner. It’s a good way to shift my focus from the negative to the positive.
- Give Your ‘To Do’ List to God – Are you torn on how to accomplish everything on your ‘to do’ list? Pray about it! I often make a ‘to do’ list and I’ve started asking God which items on my list He feels is most important to tackle that day. That is prayer!
- Take a Walk – One of my favorite things to do is walk outside. And, this time of year is no exception. The leaves are changing color and the air is crisp and cool. I often use my walking time to listen to a spiritual podcast. But sometimes, I put my cell phone and AirPods aside and simply use my walk as a time to pray. I find it peaceful to tell God what is going on in my life, and I ask for His help as the day moves forward.
- Keep a Gratitude Journal – Grab a notebook or a piece of paper and jot down blessings as they come your way each day. Record your blessings both big and small. This is a great way to see how God provides for our needs and how he answers our prayers. A grateful heart is a prayerful heart.
- Make Mealtime Prayer Time – Let’s not forget that saying grace before meals is prayer. It may be short, but again, it’s not about the length of prayer. It’s about thanking God for his abundance including the food we share as a family.
- Try Meditation – I stumbled upon an article on mental prayer which talked about focusing on an aspect of God’s character on which to meditate. I tried it recently when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall back asleep. I thought about the promise that ‘God has a good plan for my life.’ I closed my eyes and every time my mind wandered, I repeated this phrase. Before long, I was fast asleep.
- Read A Spiritual Book – I love to read spiritual books. More often than not, this is a part of my bedtime routine. For me, reading spiritual books is a form of prayer. Many times, I read something that really resonates with me. Then, I think about it after my reading time. I know I read it for a reason. It’s often God’s way of communicating with me about some area of my life. I’ll talk to God about what I read or think about it before I drift off to sleep.
- Examine Your Conscience at Bed Time – Before I fall asleep, I try to review the events of my day. I’ve found that if I examine my conscience before bedtime, I have greater peace of mind and more restful sleep. I thank God for what I’m grateful for and ask him to forgive me for where I fell short. Then I do my best to let go of whatever is bothering me knowing that God isn’t holding onto it so I shouldn’t either.
Just Do It!
If you want to pray more, just do it. If the desire is on your heart to pray, God put it there. Simply stop and pray right in the moment. Don’t put it off. It can be a simple phrase such as Good Morning Jesus, Come Holy Spirit, Lord Have Mercy, or Jesus I trust in You. Or, you can refer to the ways to pray throughout your day as described above. But, there’s no magic formula. Do what works best for you. The important point to remember is that prayer is simply talking to God. Just like we talk to our spouse, to our children, or to a trusted friend, God wants us to talk to Him. He longs to hear from us and eagerly awaits what we have to say.
If you like reading devotionals as much as I do, try some of my favorites …
Stop Worrying and Start Living, 365 Daily Reflections By Gary Zimak – For all the worriers out there, these devotionals are are short but powerful and focus on turning our worries over to God. Each day concludes with a quick prayer such as “God I am open to doing your will today. Please use me where I’m needed the most.”
Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by Sarah Young – The reflections are written as though Jesus is speaking directly to you. These devotions always seem to meet me right where I am, addressing my needs at that particular moment.
The Word Among Us – I highly recommend The Word Among Us mass supplement. It gives the mass readings for each day followed by a reflection and a prayer to ponder. Each issue also focuses on a specific topic and includes articles and real-life stories to grow our faith. You can also subscribe to their app and have access to the readings and devotionals on the go.
How do you make time to pray each day? Please share in the comments section below.
finding Time to pray each day is easy for me, I only have to drive a few miles to work and that allows me spend 5 or 10 minutes in quiet prayer. I also walk in the morning and stop outside church and again a few prayers. During the day I ask God to help me with anything that has come up. Of course, my evening prayers are more detailed towards my family asking God to bless my children and especially my grandchildren. It has been a salvation for me. He does hear us.
God does hear us and those are all examples of great ways to pray.