The When of Prayer: God Never Closes

Recently, I again heard someone refer to the fact that "Even God rested on the Sabbath," a reminder that rest is a necessary part of our lives. Many people in this country, maybe even you, wonder when the last time you rested was; between the growing demands of our jobs and the constant needs of our families, rest is often the farthest thing from our lives. The need to find balance in our lives between activity and rest, for a host of physical, mental, psychological, relational, and spiritual reasons, is very real; God resting on the Sabbath is a significant and meaningful example for our lives.

But in the world of prayer, it is important to realize that in actuality God never rests. There's never an "Out to Lunch" sign on God's office door, never an automated vacation response on God's email, never a redirection -- "If you need immediate assistance, please press 0 now and someone will assist you" -- on God's voice mail. God may have taken the first Sabbath, but none since.

This is important to remember when we think about when we should pray. The question of when is entirely up to us: there is never a time when God can't hear our prayers and be with us in prayer. Sometimes you may think, "This is not very important, so I won't bother God with it; after all, He's busy with other people's terrible problems. If it gets worse, then I might pray about it." God isn't an overworked clerk; it's not necessary for you to take a number, or even come back next Tuesday when it's less busy.

We're the ones who use time as a reason not to pray, not God. We wonder if it's the right time to pray, as if God is a professional who can't be contacted outside of scheduled office hours. We wonder if we're wasting God's time about silly things, as if God is an unapproachable VIP. We are more likely to think, "I'll pray about that later," either with our daily (scheduled) prayers or just some distant time in the future, than to just say a prayer.

This week, we'll consider some good times to pray. Scheduling is one way to improve our prayer habits, by committing to pray at certain times each and every day. But prayer is not only a scheduled event, only to be done at meals and before bed; in fact, prayer is essentially spontaneous.

The apostle Paul suggested we are to "pray without ceasing." Usually, we interpret this to mean that we are to find ways to pray every moment of every day. But Paul's advice is not really about marking prayer by the second hand on the clock. It is about recognizing that we can pray in every circumstance we find ourselves in, for any reason -- or for no reason at all. Yes, we can pray before meals or with military precision at certain hours of the day. We can pray with the sun, at daybreak and sunset, or around our sleeping habits, when we awaken and just before we sleep. We can pray every time we see a rainbow or pass a budding flower. Or we can break out of thinking that prayer is about a clock and just pray anytime at all.

God exists beyond our schedule. So God is always there and always ready for our prayers.

Today's Prayer Prompt: When the spirit moves you today, just stop whatever you are doing and say a prayer.