How do you pray?
I’ve always been interested in learning how, when and where other people spend time with Jesus.
Do you petition God on your knees with outstretched arms? Do you pray in the privacy of your dorm room or while exploring nature? Do you feel closer to God when singing His praises or lying in your bed at night? Do you enjoy praying in a group aloud or whispering Jesus’s name to yourself?
I love talking to God throughout the day. Ever since I came to Asbury, my proximity to God during the mundane events of my daily routine has filled my heart with joy. I pray as I walk to and from my dorm, the library and the Luce. I pray during solitary runs. I pray aloud when alone in a study room, stressed out over homework.
I like praying throughout the day because I enjoy the feeling of God’s presence in my raw and vulnerable moments. The monotony of the habits and schedule I’ve created at school can become burdensome, but when I’ve invited the Holy Spirit into my day, there is joy in every simple task.
The kind of active prayer I practice has shown me the value of God’s friendship. He’s not just someone I want in my corner when things go wrong and my life is a mess. I crave the Lord’s presence in every day’s highs and lows.
It has become increasingly harder to slow down and spend quiet time with God. Our society is hyper-focused on productivity and satisfying our selfish desires as soon as they enter our minds. There are some prominent examples of this, but a more subtle form I’ve noticed is the inability to let go of control. I’m incredibly guilty of this.
As a teen, I was ambitious regarding my college experience, sports and future career. I held all of these things with an iron fist, unwilling to let God change my ideas or my perspective about the best place to go to school or the kind of job that would be fulfilling. My narrowmindedness bled into my prayer life, causing my time with God to be filled with a long list of wants as I kept an eye on the clock.
When I was struggling with guilt and conviction, I convinced myself that I was too busy to spend upwards of 20 minutes with God to unload. I needed to “get myself together,” and then I would come back and pray in silence when I was mentally prepared. My perfectionism with surface-level things stunted my spiritual growth and relationship with the Lord. It wasn’t until I gave up control of my time and the desire to maintain a perfectly contrite image before God that I could experience the power of active prayer.
One book I’ve read recently in my Ministry and Missions class has reaffirmed my love of active prayer. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala runs parallel with our chapel theme of Love in Action this semester. Part of actively loving others as a Christian is interceding for them through prayer.
On page 57, Cymbala writes, “The devil is not terribly frightened of our human efforts and credentials. But he knows his kingdom will be damaged when we begin to lift up our hearts to God.”
I may not be pursuing a Christian Ministries degree or striving to become a pastor, but when I pray consistently throughout the day, I know I’m making a difference.
As I read Cymbala’s book and pondered the last few chapel messages, a verse in Romans stuck out to me. Romans 12:2 states, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The pattern our society reinforces is one in which we’re too busy being productive to pray. Our world is self-focused and only concerned with satisfying our fleshy desires as quickly as possible. However, God calls us to be intentional about the state of our minds and hearts. He calls us to make an effort to renew them during every season of life. We cannot follow our Heavenly Father and align ourselves with His will if we haven’t taken the time to memorize His voice.
Today, I challenge you to invite the Holy Spirit into your routines and scheduled tasks through active prayer.
Give Him the everyday challenges, and He will renew your spirit in new and incredible ways.
