TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. (Psalms 23:3 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• This past week was a weird one. For some reason, I spent the whole week out of sorts, and then — it all culminated into a very frustrating moment on Friday when I accidentally dipped the end of my thunderbolt cable in a bowl of potato soup. I will not try to explain how I managed to do that. But in the process of trying to clean the cord (which charges my MacBook), I must have damaged it because it wouldn’t charge my computer. I practically live on my laptop, so that’s a big no-go for me. Since my computer was down to 8% battery life when the cable-in-soup incident occurred, I had to stop everything to find a replacement cable. After being thankful that God made me an e-mail pack rat, I found the Apple receipt for my laptop from June 2021, so I could know exactly what I needed. I finally found one at Best Buy. Side note, if anyone is looking for a job — they had a poster on the door that they are hiring. Based on the hike I took around the store to find an employee to help me, they desperately need people.
Anywho… I’m happy to report that my computer is fully charged. It’s resting comfortably on my desk today (no work on Sundays!) and prepared for a new workweek that will not include any soup in the vicinity.
As I reflected on what to write this morning, my soup incident seemed to have a lesson in it… sometimes, we end up in a hot mess, and it’s often when we most need a spiritual and prayerful recharge.
It’s not uncommon for me to finish my prayer time with the prayer, “Lord, help me to keep You close in every detail today.” But just as often, I get distracted once the day is actually in progress. Do you do that, too? We get busy and don’t remember that God cares enough to be involved in every aspect of our lives. I have experienced and observed it in others — so I am well-acquainted with that desperate need for a recharge.
Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Three hours?! How many of us can even commit to three minutes?? Yet the wisdom here is true… we live in a fast-paced, go-go-go world, and the reality is — we don’t have time NOT to pray. Plus, the best news ever — we don’t even have to search for help at Best Buy to do it!!!
Paul wrote about the need for constant prayer (Romans 12:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians 4:6). As Christians, we nod along in agreement, but how often do we really live by that? If our days are based on a battery indicator, prayer is the only thing that can keep us fully charged and prepared for whatever comes our way! Whether it be something as innocent as soup or something maybe a bit more sinister! To be constant in prayer is like anything else we do — we must establish the habit. We must be purposeful and deliberate until prayer becomes as easy as breathing.
The enemy is looking to take you down. And when we neglect our prayer life, we practically hand him the ammunition to do it. But our God is so faithful. He is always eager and willing to replenish us and equip us. But being the gentleman He is, God won’t force Himself on anyone who doesn’t want Him. He is waiting to be asked. And we ask through prayer.
It’s full circle, isn’t it? We need to recharge… we need to pray… God gives us everything we need when we ask… and His Holy Spirit even helps us to pray when we don’t know what to say (Romans 8:26). As David once wrote, “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake” (Psalms 23:3 NKJV). (No, the 23rd Psalm isn’t a funeral psalm, though we treat it that way… it’s a restorative and replenishment psalm. That’s a different blog post…)
There’s no time like the present to start working on this habit of constant prayer. Stay plugged into Jesus so you can stay fully equipped for whatever comes your way!
Today, as you pray, thank God that His restoration is only a prayer away. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you stay constantly connected in your prayer life. Ask Him to teach you to pray about everything, trusting that there is no problem too big or too small. God wants to hear it all.
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
