Habitual, brief pauses for prayer are the secret to practicing God’s presence.
Twelve habitual prayers
Practicing God’s presence involves developing a prayer habit based on about twelve prayers. We can develop them one at a time until they all become as normal as breathing.
They are not meant to be a list to walk through in sequence. Rather they are prayers that become a habit and find their natural place scattered throughout our day as led by the Lord and called forth by different situations.
For example, before I began writing this post I instinctively paused to tell God I cannot do this and need his help. This was not mechanical. It flowed naturally from my sense of need.
I have been admitting my dependence to God and asking for help for many years based on my beliefs.
I am convinced I cannot even think unless God gives me a rational mind from moment to moment (see Daniel 4), and I cannot know spiritual things apart from the Spirit of God, and I cannot formulate ideas in a helpful way without his wisdom.
That prayer is one way I practice God’s presence.
In upcoming posts we will explore twelve prayers. I suggest you focus on one or two a day to develop the habit and let others flow naturally as fits the occasion.
Don’t be mechanical. But regularly ask yourself, “How can I practice God’s presence right now?”
Having God and his Word in your mind, and on your lips if possible, makes him present to you, no matter what your emotions, what the condition of your spirit, or to what degree you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The foundational habit
One habit makes the other practices possible.
It is the regular pause to pray, as often as possible throughout the day, for as little as one second to as long as you desire, but usually for five to ten seconds.
You can pray in your heart or aloud, with eyes open or closed, when you are alone or in a crowd.
You turn your mind to God and express one or more of these twelve prayers. And then you resume what you are doing.
Set a goal to increase your current practice. If you turn your thoughts to God once or twice in a typical day, increase to four to six times.
Perhaps set an alarm on your phone to remind you, or tie it to regular activities like meals, tea breaks, and getting in and out of bed.
When that habit is established, increase your pauses to every hour. Then twice each hour, then every ten minutes. Eventually you will settle into a frequency that is natural and comfortable.
As a complement to the time trigger for pausing to pray, also tie prayers to situations.
For example, when tempted, we can ask Jesus to help us overcome it (see Hebrews 2:16–18). Or when worries arise, we can declare trust in God.
Next week we will begin exploring the twelve prayers that provide variety and relevance in practicing God’s presence throughout the day.
Other readers and I would love to hear from you. Do you tend to pray in one devotional time a day or in brief pauses for prayer throughout the day, or both?
