Thirty Minutes of Prayer?

How a priest learned to pray

“You need to give God thirty minutes each day.”

I sat there with the other new arrivals to the seminary, ready to begin studies for the priesthood. I was surprised. Our professors were telling us that, in addition to the hour of community prayer we had together throughout the day, we each needed to set aside a half hour of quiet time with the Lord. Wasn’t an hour in the chapel enough, I thought?

Until that point, my prayer life wasn’t very strong.

I would offer a small prayer as I rolled out of bed, thanking God for the new day, and a similar short prayer as I was about to go to sleep. I would offer little prayers from time to time during the day, thanking God or asking for help. But I had never developed the habit of giving a significant part of each day to God.

I decided to give it a try.

Even though I’m not a morning person, I went into the chapel half an hour before the morning prayer service began. I sat there quietly, saying hello to Jesus and talking to him about my experiences so far in the seminary. After a while, though, I started getting antsy. Surely the thirty minutes were almost up? It felt like I had been praying forever! But glancing at a clock, I saw that only five minutes had passed!

I kept showing up.

Our professors had told us that prayer would probably be tough at first, but it would get easier as we practiced. After a few weeks, ten or fifteen minutes would pass by before I started feeling antsy. Eventually, the entire half hour would start to pass by without me even realizing it. I discovered I was really starting to look forward to this daily prayer time, and when I missed it for some reason, I felt off all day long.

Now I can’t imagine a life without daily prayer.

I have been trying to grow and deepen my daily prayer life ever since. I receive great peace from spending time with the Lord. If I wasn’t being faithful to my daily prayer time, there’s no way I could have strength for my ministry as a priest. I still need a lot of growth, and I still struggle with distractions, but I am so grateful for this daily time with Jesus.

“I wish I had started praying years ago!”

I hear things like this all the time as pastor of St. Peter’s. As people begin a daily habit of prayer, they start to see the fruit in their lives and they wish they hadn’t waited so long! Even if you start with 10-15 minutes of quiet time, I hope that you are giving God an opportunity to fill your heart in daily prayer!

“God, Are You Listening?”

Persevering when prayers seem unanswered

Sometimes it feels like God isn’t answering our prayers.

It is exciting when we ask God for something and he immediately grants our request. But what about when we keep praying for a particular person or need, and nothing seems to happen? We can feel discouraged or start to doubt God. We might start to wonder, “Is God not listening? Or does he not care?”

God is a loving Father who wants what is best for us.

When parents care about their child, they don’t say yes to every request he makes. This is not because they are not listening or don’t care, but because they love him and want what is best for him. In the same way, God loves us and knows what is best for us. He wants to help us grow into the saint that he is calling us to be.

As a loving Father, sometimes God says “no.”

We might ask the Lord for a particular job, for example, and not get hired. It could be that he knows that this is not actually what we need, and he has something better planned for us. Looking back on the things we have asked God for over the years, we can probably recognize many situations where we are now grateful that God told us no!

Sometimes God says, “not yet.”

Prayer often takes time. We might be praying for years for a friend to believe in God, for example, and feel like nothing is happening. But we keep at it, and one day, the friend suddenly comes to faith! Prayer has been compared to an axe cutting away at a tree: the tree will come down, but not in one stroke. One might cut at the tree hundreds of times with seemingly no results, but then all of a sudden the tree comes crashing down!

Prayer brings us closer to God, even in hardships.

Being a follower of Jesus does not mean that we won’t experience grief, pain, or hardships. After all, the Lord experienced all of these things, and we shouldn’t expect any less. (John 15:20) In our daily prayer time, we experience Jesus walking with us, and he helps us carry our burdens. In prayer, we receive strength to keep trusting in God during difficult times.

Persevere in prayer!

Jesus gave the example of a man who keeps knocking at his neighbor’s door, not giving up until the neighbor opens the door and helps. (Luke 11:5-10) That’s how we should be in prayer. Keep knocking, and don’t give up! But remember that prayer isn’t just about asking God for things. Give him thanks for your blessings, praise him for his goodness, and enjoy being with him!

“What’s for Dinner?”

How to handle distractions in prayer

Distractions are completely normal.

It happens to all of us as we pray: we are spending time in prayer, enjoying a nice moment with the Lord, when all of a sudden we think, “I wonder what’s for dinner tonight?” These kind of distractions during prayer are normal, even for people who have a deep prayer life. It’s part of being human. So how do we deal with these distractions when they happen?

Ask yourself, “Is this a visit from God?”

As we discussed in previous messages, God will often gently tug at your heart and mind while you pray. For example, he could bring to mind an event from the past so that you can talk to him about it. Or he could bring a coworker to mind so that you can pray for her or be inspired to reach out to her. Rather than being  distractions, these sorts of moments could be a “visit” from Jesus, who is knocking on the door of your heart and waiting for you to invite him in.

If it’s a visit from God, enjoy it.

Sometimes what seems like a distraction at first is actually a visit from the Lord. If you think that this might be the case, then don’t rush on to the next part of your prayer. Instead, take some time to further explore how Jesus might be touching your heart. Enjoy being with him. When it seems that the visit has run its course, you can thank Jesus and continue your prayer time.

If it’s a distraction, gently turn back.

Many times we will experience a thought that is clearly an unhelpful distraction, like wondering about dinner. When this happens, don’t get alarmed or beat yourself up. Just try to gently turn your mind back to whatever you were praying about. It is similar to a mother in conversation with another adult. When her children rush up, trying to interrupt, she doesn’t make a big scene. She just gently tells them to run along and play, continuing her conversation with minimal disruption.

Keep being faithful in prayer!

When one first begins to build a daily prayer life, it is easy to get discouraged by distractions. You might assume that you’re not cut out for praying, but this isn’t the case! What pleases God is not that your prayer is perfect, but that you are seeking to draw closer to him. As you keep being faithful to your daily prayer time, distractions will gradually lessen and become easier to handle. Keep at it, God is worth it!

Praying with Scripture

Encountering God in the Bible

God touches our hearts through Scripture.

As we spend time with Jesus in daily prayer, we talk with him as a friend, and we allow him to quietly speak to us. Prayerfully reading Scripture is a great way to deepen our time with the Lord. As we read the Bible, we encounter the living God, and he speaks to us through his Word.

The Gospels are a great place to start.

Rather than starting with Genesis, it is often best to start with one of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. The Gospels are unique because they contain what God did and said when he walked on earth among us. In the Gospels, we encounter Jesus as a person, and his words and actions touch our hearts.

Start with one small part or story.

When praying with Scripture, quality is often more important than quantity. For example, instead of reading all of chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mark, you might focus on the story of Jesus healing the blind man, Bartimaeus, in verses 46-52. You can read the passage slowly, perhaps several times, allowing its meaning to sink in rather than rushing to another passage.

Put yourself into the scene.

It helps to imagine yourself in the scene, seeing and hearing what is happening. You might picture yourself as part of the crowd walking past Bartimaeus. You see him as he sits begging on the side of the road. You hear his voice ring out over the noise of the crowd, “Jesus, have mercy on me!” You feel the excited trembling in his body as you guide him to meet Jesus. You share the crowd’s astonishment as you see that he has been healed; he can now see!

Reflect on what touches your heart.

As we read, there will often be something that touches us personally. When this happens, we can consider quietly what Jesus is trying to say to us and how it connects to our lives. For example, you might have been greatly moved by the heartfelt urgency with which Bartimaeus cried out for mercy. As you quietly reflect upon why that may have moved you, God helps you realize that there is an aspect of your life where you are struggling with brokenness, and you desperately need the mercy and healing of Jesus, too.

Talk to Jesus about the insights he has given you.

As we find the Lord touching our heart and mind in Scripture, we can talk to him about it. Continuing the previous example, you could begin to ask Jesus for forgiveness. With new insight, you might talk to him about your own need for healing. The plea of Bartimaeus might become a heartfelt prayer of your own: “Teacher, I wish to see!” In simple ways like this, even a small passage of Scripture can help you have a beautiful prayer experience with the Lord.

Listening for God

God speaks in silence

Quiet prayer time allows us to hear God.

When two friends are together in a noisy place, it can be hard for each to hear what the other is saying. Once they move somewhere that is quiet, they finally hear each other clearly. In a similar way, God is always reaching out to us, but we can’t hear him because of all of the noise. When we set aside quiet time to be with God, we start to hear God more clearly.

God usually doesn’t speak in a booming voice.

In your daily prayer time, you won’t normally hear a loud voice from heaven or see a miraculous sign. It is more likely that he will speak to you by gentle tugs on your mind and heart. It is like the experience of the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament: instead of revealing himself in a big, noisy manner, God spoke in a “still, small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)

In silence, God gives you new insights.

Perhaps you have been sharing with Jesus how a coworker has hurt you. As you sit quietly, lifting your mind and heart to the Lord, he brings to mind a forgotten experience from years earlier, when you hurt a friend in a similar way. You begin to feel more compassion and understanding toward the coworker.

In silence, you see how God is at work.

Perhaps you have been telling Jesus about a situation that is causing you a great deal of worry and anxiety. As you sit quietly, he helps you remember several other times in your life when you felt like you were in an impossible situation. Looking back, you see that he took care of you each time and opened unexpected doors. You experience deeper peace and calm, trusting that he will take care of you now, too.

In silence, God guides you.

Perhaps while quiet with Jesus, he brings the image of a friend to mind, seemingly out of nowhere. You haven’t spoken to the friend in quite a while, but you feel a tug at your heart that the Lord might be asking you to give her a call. When you call her after your prayer time, you discover that she was facing a very difficult decision and that she had been praying for someone to reach out to her!

Your friendship with God starts to deepen.

As we spend time each day in prayer, talking with the Lord and listening, our friendship with him starts to deepen. He becomes a friend: not just someone we have heard about, but someone we know. In our next message, we will explore how we can invite Jesus to speak to us through Scripture.

Talking with a Friend

Prayer as a conversation with God

Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated.

When starting a daily prayer life, one might imagine prayer as a formal and stuffy endeavor, with a lot of words like “thou” and “almighty.” But it can be as simple as a conversation with a good friend. When two friends spend time together, catching up and sharing from the heart, time seems to fly by. This is how daily prayer is meant to be.

You can talk to Jesus as a friend.

In your daily time set aside for prayer, you can imagine Jesus sitting with you, and you can talk to him in a conversational way. For example, if your prayer time is after breakfast, you might start off, “Good morning, Lord! Here I am again. Thank you for this beautiful day you have given me, and for this strong cup of coffee! Help me to open my mind and heart to you this morning.”

There’s a lot to talk about!

You can talk to Jesus about whatever you wish. Tell him what’s on your mind. If you’re happy, tell him why you’re happy. If you’re worried, talk to him about what’s going on. Jesus already knows all of this, but he wants to hear you share it with him. You can say thanks, ask for help, pray for others, or ask for forgiveness.

A conversation is better than a list.

As you open your heart to Jesus, it is helpful to talk to the Lord about individual items rather than listing them. For example,
rather than naming a bunch of things that he is thankful for, a husband could begin by first talking to Jesus about his wife:
“Thank you, Lord, for Michelle. She is so caring and patient. I’m so glad that you brought her in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without her!”

Jesus will want to get a word in, too!

Like all good conversations, you will want to make sure your time with Jesus is not one-sided. It will be important to allow time for him to speak back to you. He doesn’t usually speak in a loud voice from heaven, but rather touches our hearts in the silence and in the reading of Holy Scripture. We will explore this in our upcoming messages.

You will get better at prayer as you keep practicing!

Even if it is difficult at first, keep showing up to your daily prayer time. Just as fifteen minutes with a friend can pass without realizing it, the time you set aside for prayer will start to seem like it goes quickly. Jesus loves you and wants to give you his strength and peace; it’s as easy as talking with a friend!

Taking the First Step

Forming a daily plan to spend time with God

To grow in daily prayer, we need a plan.

When beginners take up jogging, it’s important to have a good plan. They will need a good starting distance: too short and it won’t be a good workout, too long and it won’t be realistic. They will also need to choose a good time and place so that they can stay faithful to their workouts. As they follow their plan, running will gradually come more easily. In a similar way, if we want to develop our daily prayer life, we will need to follow a plan.

Start small but be consistent.

It is beautiful to lift our hearts up to God in small moments of prayer throughout our daily activities, but if we really want to deepen our relationship with him, we also need to set aside time to be quiet with him in prayer. It needs to be more than a couple of minutes; after all, it usually takes a few minutes simply for our minds and hearts to settle down. If you’re just starting out, consider setting aside 10-15 minutes a day for prayer.

When can you give your best to God?

We want to give time to God when we are at our best. If one is a morning person, for example, that will often be a great time to pray. It could be during one’s lunch break, after arriving home from school or work, or in the evening before bed. The important thing is to choose a time that is consistently open on our calendars, and a time when we can give our best attention to God.

Where’s your best place to pray?

One great thing about praying is you can pray anywhere you like: your bedroom, on the back porch, or any place that is relatively quiet and free from distractions. Can you get rid of the background noise of the television or radio? Can you turn off your cellphone and allow yourself to be “unplugged” for a short while? You want to focus on God. You can be confident that you have his full attention, and that he cares deeply about you and what’s on your mind.

Just try and keep at it!

It may be tough at first. In the everyday noise of our lives, being still and quiet might not come naturally. But as you keep showing up for your time with God, you will gradually see that it is getting easier and that it is becoming a part of the day that you look forward to. Just as a runner grows stronger and more confident with each day of training, you will see results in your daily time with the Lord!

Running on Empty?

What’s your daily prayer life like?

We often feel like we’re running on empty.

In our daily lives we can feel anxious or stressed, even though we know that God has given us many reasons for joy. We can feel lost or insecure, despite believing that God has a plan for us. We can feel distant from God, even though we have faith in his love and mercy.

Are we allowing God to fill us?

Difficult situations often come up in our lives, bringing moments of worry or anxiety. But when we are constantly experiencing these sorts of emotions, it is a sign that something needs attention. Like the indicators in our cars that tell us we are almost out of gas, these feelings are often a sign that we are not spending enough time with God in daily prayer. We are not allowing God to spiritually fill us.

How much time are we giving to God?

If we were to track how much time we spend on the phone or watching TV, it would often be hours and hours per week. But if we were to look at how much time we set aside to be with God outside of church, what would it add up to in a given week? Would it be a significant amount of time, or would it be more like the length of a typical television commercial break?

We spend time with those we love.

If we love God, we should be spending time with him each day. As we spend time opening our mind and our heart to God, we start to grow in our relationship with him. He calms our anxieties; he brings us peace; he helps us see how he is at work in our lives. We feel strengthened and refreshed, ready for the challenges and opportunities each day brings.

Daily prayer becomes easier as we jump in!

If we don’t have much of a daily habit of prayer, we can start by setting aside 10-15 minutes each day in a quiet place. We practice just being quiet with God, talking to him as a friend, and allowing him to speak back to us through silence and the reading of Scripture. Like many things worth doing in life, it probably won’t be easy at first. But as we stick with it, it gets easier and starts to feel more natural!

In this series, we will share some tips for daily prayer.

We will explore some of the ideas above in greater detail and give practical examples, so that you can develop or deepen your daily prayer life. Rather than feeling like we’re running on empty, why not allow God a chance to “refuel” us in daily prayer?