I Don't Want To Only Pray When Something Is Wrong

I noticed something about myself that I didn't particularly like.

I'm really good at praying when there's a problem.

Give me uncertainty and suddenly I'm talking to God all day. A difficult phone call coming up? I'm praying. Somebody I love is struggling? Praying. Something happens financially that I wasn't expecting? I'm probably praying before I've even figured out exactly what happened.

Then things settle down.

Everybody seems okay.

Nothing urgent is happening.

And somehow I get quieter.

I don't deliberately decide I need God less. It isn't like I wake up and think, “Everything's going pretty well, Father, I'll take it from here.”

But sometimes that's basically how I live.

That bothers me.

I Realized It On A Completely Normal Day

Nothing happened.

That's actually why I remember it.

I had finished some work, taken care of a couple of things around the house, answered messages, and gone outside to deal with something I'd been putting off. The weather was decent. Nobody had called with bad news. There wasn't a decision hanging over me.

It was just a good, ordinary day.

Later I realized I'd barely talked to God.

Not because I was angry with Him.

I had simply been busy enjoying the life I'd spent plenty of time asking Him to help me with.

That felt a little backwards.

I started thinking about how many prayers I've prayed during difficult seasons.

“God, please get us through this.”

“Please provide.”

“Help me know what to do.”

“Take care of my family.”

Then the Lord answers, life becomes quieter, and I'm already moving on to something else.

I don't think I'm alone in that.

Normal Blessings Become Invisible Fast

There are things I once prayed about that I barely notice anymore.

That's strange to admit.

At some point something was important enough that I brought it repeatedly before God. Then the answer became normal life.

You get used to normal remarkably quickly.

Food in the house.

Work to do.

A person you love sitting in the next room.

A body that carried you through another day.

A problem that didn't happen.

Nobody posts a testimony about the phone call that never came.

I don't wake up every morning overwhelmed with gratitude because the plumbing still works.

Maybe I should once in a while.

Not the plumbing specifically, although I suppose that's worth being thankful for too.

Gratitude Can Get Weird If You Force It

I've tried gratitude lists before.

They can be helpful.

They can also turn into homework if I'm not careful.

Thank You for family.

Thank You for food.

Thank You for this day.

Thank You for...

What else?

There have been mornings when I've caught myself trying to reach a respectable number of thankful items as though God was waiting for me to complete the worksheet.

That's not what I want.

I'd rather notice one thing and actually mean it.

A while ago I heard someone in my family laughing from another room.

I don't even remember what was funny.

For a second I just thought, I love that sound.

So I thanked God for it.

That prayer lasted maybe five seconds.

I meant every word.

Jesus Gave Thanks For Bread

I've read the accounts of Jesus feeding the multitude plenty of times, but the thanksgiving part is easy to pass over because the miracle is obviously more interesting.

Jesus takes the bread and gives thanks.

Bread.

Something ordinary.

People ate bread all the time.

There wasn't anything impressive about holding bread until Jesus made it enough for thousands of people.

I don't know why, but that has made me pay more attention to ordinary things.

Not everything has to become a spiritual symbol.

Sometimes bread is bread.

And it's still worth thanking God for.

I Have Prayed Harder In Waiting Rooms Than Living Rooms

That's probably true literally.

Hospitals have a way of making people pray.

So do airports when someone you love is flying through bad weather. Courtrooms. Doctor's offices. The parking lot before a job interview. The minutes before somebody receives test results.

Pressure focuses us.

Ordinary life doesn't.

During ordinary life, there's laundry and email and somebody asking what's for dinner and a package arriving that you forgot you ordered.

God can become background.

That's the part I'm trying to pay attention to.

Not because I think God becomes offended if I don't verbally acknowledge Him every fifteen minutes.

I just don't want a relationship with Him that becomes most active when I need something.

I wouldn't want to be treated that way by somebody I love.

A Man Once Told Me He Prayed While Watering His Garden

I almost didn't include this because it sounds like the sort of story that is about to become a devotional illustration.

It isn't much of a story.

An older man mentioned that he often talked with God while watering his garden in the evening.

That's it.

I asked what he prayed about.

He shrugged.

“Whatever happened that day.”

I remember waiting for more.

There wasn't more.

He didn't have a system.

Sometimes he thanked God.

Sometimes he complained.

Sometimes he talked about his grandchildren.

Apparently sometimes he mostly watered tomatoes.

I liked that.

There was no separation in his mind between the part of life where prayer happened and the part where he watered vegetables.

I've complicated things more than that.

I Still Forget

This morning went well.

And yes, I forgot again.

I got busy earlier than expected. One thing led to another. By the time I thought about what I was writing here, I realized I'd done exactly what this article is about.

There's something almost annoyingly appropriate about that.

So I stopped for a minute.

Not long.

“Father, thank You. Things are okay today, and I know that's not something I should take for granted.”

Then I thought about somebody who isn't having an okay day and prayed for them too.

A few minutes later I was working again.

No dramatic moment.

I didn't feel different.

Maybe That's More Of What I Want From Daily Prayer

Not intensity all the time.

I don't think anybody can live that way.

I want remembrance.

Remembering God before the emergency.

Remembering Him after the answer.

Remembering Him when I'm happy enough that I don't feel an urgent need to ask for anything.

There are days when daily effective prayer will involve serious things. There are seasons when you might barely get through a prayer without crying.

I've had those.

But there should also be room for, “God, today was good.”

Or, “Thank You for my family.”

Or, “I enjoyed that.”

Maybe even, “Nothing is terribly wrong today, but I still want to talk to You.”

I like that prayer.

There's no emergency hidden inside it.

No request attached.

Just God and an ordinary day.

I've asked Him for enough help getting through difficult days.

I don't want to forget Him during the good ones.