Pause and Pray

Jenna stopped in her tracks, sighing in frustration as she bent down to pick yet another rock out of her shoe.  

“Why on earth am I suddenly picking up rocks every time I walk the dog,” she wondered. 

They finished their usual route, and at home, Jenna slipped off her shoes and discovered the problem: she’d worn those old slip-ons for so long that she wore a hole right through the soles of both shoes!   

Philippians 4:6 reminds us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  

Sometimes our prayer lives are like Jenna’s old shoes: we take them for granted, setting aside a daily prayer habit and coming back when it’s convenient — putting off prayer until we can find the time, or in a time of trouble or desperation, when we really need God to intervene.  

But prayer isn’t meant to be a sometimes thing.   

We cultivate a healthy prayer life when we communicate with God often — daily, or even more than once a day. When we let our communication with the Lord wear thin, we are missing out on the blessing of His listening ear. He wants to hear from us: both our praises and our problems!  

Don’t tuck your prayer life away for later, like an old pair of shoes in the back of the closet. Pray throughout the day whenever you have a quiet moment to reach out to God, and build regular prayer into your day to ensure there are no holes in your communication with your Heavenly Father.  

Let’s pray.   

Lord, thank you for being available to us through prayer. We’re so grateful for your love for us, and your desire to hear from us, your children. Remind us to keep the lines of communication open. Amen.