Sometimes, we just can’t “plan” prayer.  Nor can we plan every teachable moment with our children.  We have to be flexible and we have to be ready.

In other words, we have to be spontaneous!

I know what you’re thinking.  This cuts against everything we said last week about structured prayer.  I  thought you said we need a script?

Yes, we often need a script.  But we also need to be prepared to deviate from the script!  This is good news for busy working moms who can’t plan out every detail of the day.

Plan A – Get everyone in bed by 8:00 p.m.  Read stories from 8:00 – 8:20.  Prayers from 8:20 to 8:30.  Lights out at 8:35.

Plan B – Kids get home late from practice at 8:15.  By the time we do baths, showers, and snacks, it’s 9:05.  No time for reading!  Brush teeth, throw up a blessing, and turn out the light. 

Given that Plan B is often my normal routine, I need to be flexible or I’ll die of guilt!

This is where spontaneous prayer comes in.  The Apostle Paul says, “Pray without ceasing.”

Find Your “Down” Time

Think about the uninterrupted time you have with your family.  When is your “down” time with your children?  On a walk? Waiting at the doctor’s office? In the morning while they’re eating breakfast?

My favorite uninterrupted time – by far – is in the car.  When else do I have a captive audience?  My sister prays with her son while he eats breakfast – when else can you get a teenage boy to listen to his mom?

Another reason I love using “down time” to pray?  I hate wasting time.  Prayer is the perfect way to make it count.

Focus on the Need at Hand

We’re driving along and Anna says, “A boy in my class is having surgery tomorrow.”  Rather than responding, — That’s too bad, honey.  Let’s put him on our prayer list and pray for him tonight” – why not pray for him right here and right now?

We call it “Stop, drop, and pray.”

It teaches our children that we don’t have to wait to ask God for help.  We can be anywhere, and we can come just as we are.  And it also teaches them that prayer is worth interrupting something else – sometimes, we need to stop for a moment.  Prayer is that important. 

Lead by Example

This is the hardest part – for me – about spontaneous prayer.  Frankly, I just forget.  I go through my day like God really isn’t involved.   I put bedtime prayer in a “box” and I check it off the list.   Yet there’s no reason I can’t stop, drop, and pray right in my office!

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Are you praying without ceasing?  Are you taking advantage of spontaneous prayer?

Join us next week for a discussion about gutsy prayer!