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With the debut of the new movie, “War Room”, I have noticed a heightened awareness towards the power of prayer.
Because of this, there’s been a lot of interest from my guest post on Arabah Joy’s blog called “How to make a simple prayer journal. If you’ve not read it yet, please take the time either before or after you read this post, as it has grown my prayer ministry to others in a huge way.
Here are some simple, yet effective ways I’ve found as a mom to find time for a consistent prayer life.
Don’t believe the LIE
We moms have a way of charging through our day lickity split from the moment our feet hit the floor.
Come on, admit it – how many times have you thought to yourself,
“I don’t have time for prayer!”
In the book, “Lies Women Believe”, Nancy Leigh DeMoss names this as one of the forty lies we women believe.
Out of a survey of Christian women, 48% of them admitted to believing this lie.
“If he (Satan) can get us to do a great many things ‘for God’ without consciously seeking the will of God through His Word and prayer, we may stir up a lot of religious dust, but we won’t do Satan’s kingdom any real damage.”
Sound familiar?
It’s not a magic formula for a perfect day, mom.
However, spending time in prayer equips you with the knowledge of God’s constant presence and reminds you to draw on His strength for whatever comes your way during the course of the day.
Here’s a testimony from one mom in the book:
“When I spend time in the Word and prayer, my daily life seems to flow along smoothly – even with THREE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE. But then I get complacent and think what a wonder woman I am and stop making it a priority. Before I know it, my life is in chaos. I am screaming at my kids and on the verge of child abuse, trying to figure out how I ended up like this. And what can I do to fix it? Unfortunately, it takes me a while to realize I can’t – that I need God!
The lies of Satan creep in so subtly, and if I’m not in the Word, I start believing them.”
You may not think you have time. But the truth is, you can't afford not to take the time! Click To Tweet
I remember feeling this way when my kids were small.
You’re short on sleep, it’s hard to catch a break without having kids right on top of you – how in the world can you fit in prayer time?
I have a good friend – a mom of three young kids. She texted me one day asking what to do about finding time to spend in prayer.
I told her to beat the kids up.
NOT LITERALLY. Don’t go all CPS on me now.
The truth is, for most of us, we are at our best in the morning.
Think about it. When do you do your best thinking – be it office work, the bills, or perhaps studying for school?
Whenever that best time is for you, that’s the time you need to seek the Lord also.
If you are truly a night owl, go for it.
I don’t understand you – but go for it.
There are many references to morning prayer in the Bible. Jesus rose early to pray. The Psalmist in chapter 63:1 said:
“Early will I seek Thee”.
But, He also says this in verse 6:
“When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”
The entire chapter is about earnestly seeking after God. And the truth of the matter is, we should be in an attitude of prayer ALL day, no matter what we’re doing.
But there needs to be a time set apart for you and God, free from the distractions.
Only you can figure out that time period. If you can have your devotions at night after the kids have gone to bed and still stay awake and that’s what works for you, DO IT.
Me? I’ll stick with mornings.
I know you’re tired. I know you need that sleep to cope with the day.
But you need God more.
How to begin?
1)Decide when
Get your time firmly in your mind. Again, I recommend mornings, because as a mom, your day usually gets away from you with all the to-do lists and never-ending laundry/dishes/road-running.
2)Set an alarm
Just do it. Even if you choose 10:30 at night, an alarm will remind you that it’s time.
3)Start with 10 minutes
Mom – even if it’s only 10 minutes of concentrated time and that’s all you can do in this season of life, commit to it. I think you’ll find that the more consistent you are, the more you will look forward to and even yearn for that time!
4)Start a simple list of people for which to pray (again, check out the prayer journal idea).
–Get some post-it notes. Place them in strategic spots around the house. As you become aware of a need, jot it down.
–At the end of the day, gather up the post-it notes and write them in a notebook.
–The next day, pray for those requests during your 10 minutes. If there are too many requests, pray for who you can, draw a line, write the date, and pick up with the rest the next day.
-Keep up with the post-it notes every day.
Before you know it, you will have a prayer ministry!
I didn’t know I could make a difference!
When you pray for others, you find yourself remembering to ask about their need.
And you will be so very blessed with their surprised and pleased reaction that you remembered them in prayer!
This is a simple way to minister to others, mom. You have your ministry – your kids are your main service to the Lord, and never forget that.
But, if you desire more of an impact in other’s lives, but don’t know how or if you even have time – start with prayer.
When you pray for others, it leads you to minister to them in little ways, such as a text, phone call, card, or even a meal. As you pray, God lays concern on your heart for that sister. And He will lead you to the simple ways to minister.
*{Also, God will give you discernment, if you ask, as to how many areas to get involved. Be wise – you can’t possibly do everything.}
“He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Did you get that? NOTHING.
Not even our best work FOR God can be done WITHOUT God. Click To Tweet
Not a Sunday School lesson.
Not a day of homeschooling.
Not even a (gulp) blog post.
We must abide.
A day that begins with prayer and continues in an attitude of prayer is a day of abiding in Christ.
And abiding in Christ brings forth fruit.
Oswald Chambers said,
“The purpose of prayer is to reveal the presence of God equally present all the time in every condition.”
Think of it! You have the privilege of God’s very presence at all times throughout your day!
In fact, He invites YOUR presence.
God! The very thought that the God of the universe desires my presence gives me chills.
Why would I reject that?
If at first you don’t succeed – forgive yourself
Don’t beat yourself up (even if you didn’t beat the kids up).
Just don’t go there.
As a perfectionistic mom, I let this beat me down so much that many times instead of failing, I didn’t even try!
I regret that.
I didn’t give myself enough grace, and so I slipped
down
down
down
Then, I’d get back up off the floor and try again.
And fail.
I distanced myself from the Lord.
I didn’t pray during the day because
I HAD MISSED DEVOTIONS THAT MORNING.
You know what I have to say about that now?
Dumb.
Don’t be like “that me”. (Yes, I am referring to the Rob Lowe line in the DirecTV commercials.)
Keep the direct line open. God still loves you, He knows your desire, and He knows your human frailties.
Just keep trying. Just keep praying throughout the day.
Just keep swimming.
“My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, MSG
How about it mom? Are you ready to deepen your prayer life? If you have other ideas of how to make this work – share!
I love your post Ruthie!!! So amazing that we both write on PRAYER this week too! God is so cool like that 😉 I had to share it on my blog as well! I love how you write girl…keep writing for God’s glory!
You are always so encouraging, and YES – God is working! In and through us – how amazing that He chooses us and works in every small detail of our lives to bring Him glory and minister to others. I’m so excited! 🙂
Ruthie, this is such a powerful truth you’ve shared here. The power of prayer is life-changing and vital in our walk as Believers. Thank you for sharing this! So blessed to visit with you this morning! Peace and many blessings to you, Love! 🙂
It really is, Tai, and we don’t even realize it most of the time. We can truly rely on Him and draw from that strength if we’re walking with Him – it makes all the difference! Thanks for stopping by today. 🙂
You are so very right, Ruthie. And you’re most welcome, Love! 🙂
Great post Ruthie. I think if we even caught a glimpse into the spiritual world of what our prayer does behind the scenes we wouldn’t get off our knees. Thank you for your tips!
It’s true. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean God isn’t working and isn’t faithful. He’s a very present help in times of trouble!
Absolutely true, Rosie! And also how much it changes us from the inside out as well. Thanks for reading. 🙂
Hey there, Ruthie. I tired to leave a comment earlier, and my computer went wonky! I’ve had prayer on the brain for a while–in fact I put it on my blogging calendar coming up–so I’m enjoying your posts on prayer and look forward to your series. I think these are excellent practical suggestions. I like the post-it note idea and starting with 10 minutes. I keep a little notebook I carry around with me, but I lose it all the time. The post-it notes stay stuck to something!
Betsy, trust me when I say it’s not you – it’s me. My site is still randomly shutting down. ACK!!! Please pray with me on this. I’ve done everything except hire a web technician and I’m about there.
Anyhoo, thank you for following along, I think we are all more aware of the power of prayer these days and I’m so glad for that! The post-it notes really do help – in fact, I need to get some more and spread them around the house. 🙂
Hi Ruthie, sometimes life flies by and I wonder what happened in between!
I love the notes idea, it works well when I am studying alongside jotting notes and making prayer notes too.
Thank you for sharing this nuggets of wisdom.
Sweet blessings to you Ruthie
So good to hear from you, friend! Yes, time flies and we must grab opportunities to pray while we can! Post-it notes are wonderful for logging short bits of wisdom and prayer requests!
Have a great day, Ifeoma! 🙂