Define Your Reality - Day 8

Ephesians 6:18 “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.”

I sat down on the couch, exhausted. Beside me was a whole basket full of fresh laundry, still warm. I thought I would just leave it in the basket and put it all away the next day, but I knew I needed to do it then. I dumped it on the couch, sat the empty basket at my feet and began to fold it all. One piece at a time, I realized that my little girls weren’t so little anymore. Tiny “footie” jammies were now replaced with shorts and t-shirts. Tiny dresses were now turning into big girl dresses and socks no longer had ruffles on them.

Where did my little baby girls go? It occurred to me, late that evening, alone and folding laundry, that I had an opportunity.

Prayer can be extremely overwhelming. It can feel as though we don’t have the words to say, the time to say them or the thought capacity to actually articulate what our minds and hearts are actually feeling. Sometimes the thought of praying for my girls would paralyze me as I would think of all that is to come in their precious lives. Do I start by praying for their health or their hearts? School or peer pressure? Their future husbands or career paths? So much to think of and so little time to actually pray through it all. How would I ever pray enough for the two most precious gifts God could give me?

There, right in front of me, God was pointing out the way. Socks. PJ’s. Leggings and shirts. With each piece of clothing I would lift up a short prayer. When the basket was emptied, I would have prayed over each girl, numerous times, with numerous prayer for multiple things.

How simple and yet, so powerful.

When Paul writes to the church at Ephesus, he is encouraging them to pray at all times, in the Spirit, with every prayer and request…at all times? That seems impossible. Be encouraged, “at all times” does not necessarily mean every waking moment. At all times encompasses more than just at the dinner table, more than during church services, or when times are tough. At all times means cultivating a life of prayer in the daily routine, in and out of good and hard seasons, and even when it doesn’t feel easy.  Prayer is a weapon and we can wield it at any moment of our day. The enemy is real and he is really good at making us busy or jaded so we leave ourselves vulnerable to his attack. Praying at all times puts us in a place of covering, gives us the strength to wage the battle for ourselves, or spouses, children, friends and others. It is how we keep alert! Prayer does not have to be an inconvenience. It should always be a part of the tapestry of our life, woven in to the everyday activities and spaces of our minds and hearts.

It can all seem so overwhelming and yet, it is not! God hears you, wherever you are. He delights in hearing from you on all occasions. Invite him into your commute to work, while doing the dishes, folding the laundry, working out or taking a walk. Invite him into your life, allow him to meet you in those spaces and see how he works! He is for you and with you!