Daily Prayer Habits

We could probably spend every moment of our day praying about every aspect of our lives, but that isn't practical.

Praying daily is extremely helpful in today's stressed-out world. In prehistoric times, I'm sure the men worried about finding game and the women worried about enough skins for clothing and about the outcome of pregnancies. I'm sure there were worries about weather, migrating with the seasons, and warring enemies.

Humans have always worried. Perhaps Eve worried when she offered Adam that apple, and I'm sure Adam worried, recalling God's instructions not to eat it, but apparently he didn't worry for long.

Each of these people could easily have relieved some of their stress, and perhaps changed some outcomes, if they had prayed about their worries.

Each person will have different ways of ensuring they build in just a moment or two, for daily prayer.

I find it helpful to pray when I get up. To remember to do that, I set up an automatic email sent to me with the name of the prayer in the subject line. I see it every morning. I also have my night-time routine of prayers of thanks to God. These daily posts are another form of prayer, and I often go to my self-published paperback, the Busy Person's Prayer Book - it helps me a lot.

My sister lived alone for 40+ years and sometimes worried about that, especially after her beloved and watchful cockapoo, Dusty, went to doggie heaven. She found one prayer she loved, the Dear God prayer, and another for those who live alone. She taped the Dear God prayer to the bottom corner of her bathroom mirror, where she couldn't miss it in the morning. She kept the one for those who live alone tucked into a small prayer pamphlet, handy for when she woke up in the middle of the night for meds.

The three biggest hurdles for most people today are time, specific prayers, and reminders. If we pick easy and appropriate specific prayers (like those my sis used, or the one adopted by AA, the Serenity Prayer), that helps. If we place those prayers in specific places where we are sure to see them at one specific time of day, that helps. Doing those two things sort of takes away the need for reminders.

Father, thank you for never turning away from my prayer, no matter what time of day or night I come to you for help or just to talk.