Routines and Prayer For Christians
When life throws you a curve falling back on routines and prayer are helpful for a Christian. In this episode, we will focus on making the most of your daily routines to include prayer.
With the holidays ending there is still so much on my to-do list it seems to be never-ending. In fact, I’ve stopped making the lists because I felt like I spent half of my time just adding most of it to the next day. During this time I realized one thing that helped me tremendously and that was my daily prayer routines, and that is what I’d like to encourage you to do as I believe it will be helpful.
What is the difference between routines and habits? I believe they are both similar. A routine is actually the “doing” of a habit. There are many lists out there for good Christians to follow and I find most of them overwhelming. Keeping your routines simple give the opportunity for growth, which is my goal. My husband often says if you are not growing in your relationship with the Lord then you are not stagnant, you are actually going backward. While you may not agree with this philosophy for me it gives me pause to think.
Some people overanalyze and I am one of those people. When things go right, I tend to go with the flow but when they don’t then I’m ready to figure out the why behind it. During the busy holiday season and even afterward, I felt further and further behind with my prayer time and Bible time until I realized that it really wasn’t true and with some of the routines I had in place, I was actually on autopilot which allowed me to make the most of my time with the Lord as well as time with my family.
What are your goals as a Christian?
- Time for prayer
- Time for reading the Bible
- Time to grow in my relationship with the Lord
- Time to look at my life and make changes
- Time to share my faith
- Time for family and friends
Your goals can be different than mine but look at how you are spending your time growing in your faith and the things you’d like to change. As always start small and add to the list, and give yourself a break. When things don’t go as planned don’t get down! What are the constants in your life and are there ways to improve upon them, if not go to the next item on your list.
My goals have changed as I have grown in the Lord and as I’ve shared in previous podcasts for me the quiet time and just listening was and to a certain extent now the hardest obstacles in my life. The only place I come the closest to listening to the Lord is at church. There is something about church that gives me time to focus on the Lord and just close my eyes and listen.
Please know that I have felt a closeness to the Lord in different degrees all of my life thus far, and like the waves on the beach that closeness at times has ebbed and flowed. There are times I’d pray and only hear silence. I believe it is in those times of silence that the Lord teaches us to be disciples and allows us that quiet to do an inner reflection. It also takes discipline to be quiet before the Lord and for many of us–myself included that discipline is needed. It takes all our strength to persevere, but please, please do not give up!
It may mean we have to repent before the Lord. Ask the Lord if there is something we need to ask forgiveness for. For me often it was stress and not relying on or trusting in Him. I’ve had to ask the Lord’s forgiveness for my lack of trust. Do I know, intellectually that the Lord is in charge of everything and that He has it all under control? Of course! Yet it is difficult for us to trust without holding back.
Do you have a place to pray? Where is your place? Do you have a prayer chair? A prayer corner?
Talk about the lady who prayed and even asked God about what plants she should plant…
So, the focus today is on routine, habits and growing in your faith. Pick one thing today to focus on and begin now.
Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord, I thank you for giving me a sense and a heart for loving You and wanting to be in Your presence. Thank you for giving me the gift of faith and for allowing it to grow each day. I ask that You help me with the daily routines, and allow me the time to follow them in order to spend time with You not only in prayer and petition but time in silence. It is in the silence that I learn discipline and to be a disciple. In the silence, I learn what it is about myself that needs to be changed. Lord, is there something that I need to repent and ask forgiveness for? Is there something I am lacking? It is in the asking that we are freed and I ask this Lord in Your precious name. Dear Lord please help me in my prayer routines and to create good habits in me. I also ask for the following intentions … thank-you my God for always being here for me. And, I pray this in Jesus, Precious Name. Amen.
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