Today I decided to get my hair cut. (Insert
your own joke here. I still have some hair to cut, okay?) My favorite barber
had another guy in the chair, and somebody was ahead of me. It turned out to be a
forty-five minute wait.
But I’m learning to “wait on God” while I wait, so
today I didn't fret and fidget like I usually do. I had a good prayer time with
the Lord.
Why don’t we pray while we wait? Lots of reasons, I guess.
It’s hard to pray with so many distractions. People talking, traffic noise,
waiting room TV’s blaring. Plus, with the advent of the iPhone, it’s just as
easy to text, surf the net, email, check the scores, or even catch up on
reading.
Why not pray? Maybe “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is meant for just
such opportunities.
So, while it's hard to pray in a room full of
people, or during a hot, honking traffic jam, it can be done. In order to
overcome the noise and the chaos of waiting, I think you need two things: a
prayer plan, and a way to focus.
If you don’t have a plan, you won’t pray in the first place, or you’ll quickly run out of things to say to God. And if you don’t have a way to focus, the distractions will be too much.
A prayer plan is simply a
way of organizing your thoughts and bringing them to God. Here are three
ideas:
- The acrostic A-C-T-S is one I learned when I was a teenager: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Spend a few minutes talking to God about each one, and you'll have a wonderful prayer time.
- Or the plan I used at the barber’s today was the “Lord’s Prayer” acrostic I've talked about on this blog: P-R-A-Y-E-R. (Click on any of the letters for a link.)
- Maybe your prayer plan is to pray through a passage of Scripture. Almost any psalm is great for this. Or one of the Apostle Paul’s prayers: like Ephesians 1:15-23 or Colossians 1:9-12. But to pull this off, you’ll need to have a copy of the Scripture with you. Not hard to do on your phone, or on a slip of paper you prepare ahead of time.
The other thing you need, I think, is a way to focus. Otherwise
the presence of other people and the hustle and bustle of life will be too
distracting. So here are some ways I focus:
- Track your prayers (A-C-T-S or P-R-A-Y-E-R) on a piece of paper, or type them into your phone. You only need to write a letter or the start of a word to keep pace with your thoughts. Today while waiting for the barber I typed on my phone the first letters, and the short words, of requests I was making. It probably looked like I was texting someone, but I was praying.
- You could also write out your entire prayers – in a journal or notebook, or on your laptop.
- I often pray while I’m jogging, but in order to focus I have to make it very simple. I pray short sentence prayers, and try to match the rhythm of my breathing. (“Bless-my-wife-O Lord…help-my-son-today-dear Father…”)
- If you’re in your car, I recommend praying out loud. Sure, other drivers might think you’re talking to yourself. But you’re actually talking with the God of the universe!
Of course prayers like this are no substitute for a daily
time that you set aside to be with the Lord. Jesus said, But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:6).
But with the inevitable distractions and delays of life, why
not wait on God while you wait?
