I pondered over Christy’s dilemma: “How do I maintain a disciplined devotional time with God when I work full time and care for an infant?” She was exhausted after several days of travel to a conference for her work and her struggle was palpable, even over the phone. Uttering the most simple of prayers was difficult for her weary spirit.

I remembered when I, as a young parent, felt this same struggle. I wished that I had known then what I have now experienced to be true about prayer. I want to dedicate this blog to all of those for whom lack of time due to busyness, family obligations, work, serving others, and even church activities, have blocked or slowed their spiritual passion.

In our everyday lives, there are seasons when prayer and practicing spiritual disciplines is more difficult, even seemingly impossible. Some simple spiritual “tweaks” in how we move through our days can make a huge difference in how we view and practice prayer in the midst of seasons when life is extraordinarily busy.

Let me use Christy’s situation as an example. Infants are delightful, but time-consuming creations of God! Our hearts are set on caring for them, and our bodies are exhausted doing the same! When parenthood, jobs and other obligations are upon us, our spiritual health often suffers. But some uncomplicated adjustments to our mindsets can move us from prayerlessness to a continual state of prayerfulness.

1. Be aware of the presence of Christ in us.

I firmly believe that the command to “pray without ceasing” is especially applicable to the busy seasons of our lives. But our connectivity with God is the first thing that often suffers in such times. Then, we feel guilty and sad about the loss of communion, even though we know guilt comes from the enemy. However, our loving Father has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). Jesus is living within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because He is the Living Word, His Word is also within us. Read John 1:1-5 from The Amplified Bible slowly and simply enjoy the truth of His Presence as this truth sinks into your weary spirit:

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

2. Experience Him even in the routine and mundane.

Because the Word is living in us, and because He is the Living Light and Life within our spirits, we can commune with Him even in the most mundane, routine tasks, or in the midst of the crazy busy times. God doesn’t disappear when we step out of our “quiet times.” As others have said, we may move away from God but He never moves away from us. He is always patiently waiting, always present, always the living, active Word within us.

That is a spiritual reality for every believer. Even when His presence seems distant, Jesus is present with us as the Light who has overcome the world. He is the consolation to our desolation, yet He is present in both. It is possible to draw near even when we feel very far away because of His constant presence. Converse with Him as a friend and take time to listen in whatever moments your schedule allows–feeding or cuddling a baby, waiting at a signal or for a train to pass, while preparing a meal, as you have time between appointments, especially while driving (great place to converse with God).

3. Give your day as an offering

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering” (Romans 12:1, The Message).

All of life is conversation with God, because He is present within you. The way to overcome having your spiritual life choked out or stifled by seasons of busyness is to set your heart on being more acutely aware of His continual presence. When you are speaking to others, Jesus is there. When you are completing a task, He is with you. When a deadline looms, He is actively at work within you. There is nowhere you can go to escape the relationship. You can choose, however, to allow that relationship to slip into a one-sided one by losing your awareness. So take your life and place it before God as an offering, even if it is not your best one at this moment. Take Jesus into your busyness. Allow Him to help you find the breathing spaces within which to speak His name, give Him thanks, seek His counsel, ask for help, or just to soak in the knowledge of His presence . . . even if just for a moment.

know you have been in His Presence, even for a moment . . . and that will be enough.

4. Write down the distractions to deal with later.

It is so easy when intending to be still, to be distracted by thoughts, ideas, issues that need to be dealt with, etc. As you are practicing silence, quickly write down whatever distracts you. You can deal with them at the appropriate time. By doing this you are better able to listen to the heart of God. Here you are practicing the truth of 2 Corinthians 10:5: “Taking every thought . . . captive to the obedience of Christ.”

“In silence, you leave the many to be with the One.”–Mama Maggie Gobran

Some of Kim's Books

Seeking ways to become more deeply attached to God should be  a lifelong pursuit for all believers. Prayer provides the most profound attachment we can form with our Father, and recently this quote by Frank Bianco came my way: “If you begin to live life looking for the God that is all around you, every moment becomes a prayer.”  It adds fuel to my own prayer that we will all see how the fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray continually,” is accomplished through prayer becoming a lifestyle. It is an increased awareness of being in the presence of God moment by moment.

Paul lays the groundwork for us in Romans 12:1-2 in the Message:
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

How can this kind of attachment to the continual presence of God be done in a practical way, you may be asking? Here are some steps to ponder and pray  through this Scripture in order to walk it out day by day and moment by moment:

1.    Prayerfully place your everyday, ordinary life before God as an offering. One way to pray this is, “Father, take all that I am and all that I do today. I lay it before you. Please take it and turn my ordinary into Your extraordinary!

2.    Embrace what God does for you. Live out your gratefulness with continual prayers of gratitude, even for the smallest things. Being thankful will help you to recognize and embrace His nearness continually.  Take time to notice things you don’t normally think about and thank God for them regularly. As you cultivate a heart of appreciation for all that has been created around you and for all of the blessings you have been given, you will become more intimately connected with the Presence of God the Father.

3.    Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Our culture is separating us from spending time with God, much less being continually aware of His presence. The distractions are compelling and tempting unless we are able to see and sense Him moving and working all around us. Leaning into His purposes will keep us from the purposes of the enemy of our souls.

4.    Fix your attention on God. Whenever possible, give Him your full consideration and attentiveness. Spend much time reading and meditating upon His word. Listen for His voice. Tell Him that in these moments all you want is to know Him more deeply.  A. W. Tozer speaks about believers who have cultivated the practice of “gazing upon God.”  He describes them as those who, “without giving much thought to what is going on within them, constantly practice this habit of inwardly gazing upon God. They know that something inside their hearts sees God. Even when they are compelled to withdraw their conscious attention in order to engage in earthly affairs there is within them a secret communion always going on. Let their attention but be released for a moment from necessary business and it flies at once to God again.” He speaks of the importance of spiritual habits and rhythms in our lives and continues:  “But at the bottom of all these things, giving meaning to them, will be the inward habit of beholding God. A new set of eyes (so to speak) will develop within us enabling us to be looking at God while our outward eyes are seeing the scenes of this passing world.”  Tozer says this is not only for the super saints, but for each one of us who deeply desires to fix our attention upon God. Spend time in prayer asking the Father to develop this new set of eyes within you.

5.    Readily recognize what He wants from you. Quickly respond to it. It is important that we are always prepared to become the answer to the prayers we pray. Often, when God burdens our hearts, He is preparing us to respond to our own prayers. James says, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2: 15-17). Ask God to keep you aware and available and He will use you for His kingdom purposes.

Paul shares two promises from God if we will focus on the things above. First, we will be changed from the inside out. Secondly, God will bring the best out of us and develop well-formed maturity in us.  What believer doesn’t want this kind of transformation?

“If you begin to live life looking for the God that is all around you, every moment becomes a prayer.”  – Frank Bianco

Some of Kim's Books

If you are married or have been in a romantic relationship, you likely can recall some special times or seasons when you were overwhelmed by the way your loved one planned the perfect setting with great care and attention to detail. Perhaps it involved music, a special event, a quiet dinner, or just a peaceful evening watching a glorious sunset at your favorite spot. What made this experience significant in your mind is the time and effort taken by another person to please you and to express his or her heartfelt love.

When was the last time you took such care and made such a profound effort to meet with the One who loves you more deeply than any human on earth has the capacity to do? He is the One who has given you eternal life, blessed you and cared for you spiritually, emotionally and physically…and who has promised never to leave you or forsake you…in good times or in the midst of suffering. Jesus is worthy of our deepest love and affection. He is worthy of the time we spend creating an atmosphere that welcomes His presence no matter the situation or season of life we are in…whether in our most joyous thankful moments or when our hearts are broken and our lives are shattered.

What if we, as believers, spent as much time preparing our hearts to create a place where Jesus feels welcomed and cherished as we would for a family member or friend…a place where we can have an intimate conversation, hug tightly when life is hard, or simply enjoy each other’s company? Prayer is that space for every believer!

I can assure you, that if you will take the time to create a sacred space in your heart and life with God, your seasons of prayer will be deeper and richer and more powerful than ever. He is the One we adore and He deserves all of our affection and attention. So, before you next spend time in prayer, consider asking and reflecting on these questions during a quiet season of preparation:

1. Is my heart in right relationship with God and others?Have you renounced any idolatry to things that take up more time than you are willing to pour into your relationship with God (social media, sports, television, etc.)? Have you emptied yourself in order to make room for Jesus? Is there anything you need to confess or anyone you need to make things right with before praying? “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins too (Mark 11:25 TLB).”
2. Am I focused upon entering the throne room of heaven to stay for a while, or am I intent on rushing through my prayer list for the day? How have you ordered your day so that the best part is given to Jesus? Will He have your full attention, or are there distractions to pull your attention away from His face? Can you picture the Father sitting on His throne attentively focused upon you as you enter His throne room…and into His very presence? Consider how you might “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) throughout your day, just as your thoughts might be drawn to a human relationship continually.
3. Do I worship Him because of my deep love for Him…adoring His beauty and majesty?Sometimes it is easy to forget our First Love and let other things and other people in life take greater importance. If we will take the time to worship in spirit and truth (for this kind of worship is true prayer), the other things we have our hearts set on begin to fall away and become lesser in our hearts. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:23). Sometimes we have to lay our lists aside because we forget what we wanted to ask for in the midst of His beauty and majesty. Are you ready to worship Him? Do you long to spend time focused upon His loveliness?
4. Do I draw near to Him with the kind of anticipation and expectation that is fueled by a childlike faith? Jesus made much of the faith of children and urged us to come to Him this way. Are you excited to meet with Jesus, anticipating what He might show you or say to you? Do you delight in His presence and believe He will hear and answer? Are you willing to humble yourself and perhaps even posture yourself in a position to experience Jesus in whatever way you imagine a child would?
5. Do my prayers bring honor and glory to Jesus? This is a vital question to ask ourselves as so often we become more intent upon our own selfish desires. If our prayers are not focused upon the kingdom of God and His plans and purposes being accomplished for His glory alone, then there is always a danger of the focus being taken off of the Father and put onto us. Praying with an open Bible often keeps our prayer focus upon the things that God desires.
6. Are my prayers focused on His will being done on earth or my will being done in heaven? Even Jesus had to bow His will to the will of the Father and submit to death on a cross; however, His prayer was, “…not my will but yours be done (Luke 22:42).” This is particularly difficult when we pray for healing or for things that seem good to us, but the outcome is beyond our understanding. We must learn to trust that His will is always perfect and that His ways are not our ways. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:11), and that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). What power is at our disposal to discern the Father’s will!
7. Am I yielded to hear what He might say to me? We often spend most of our time in prayer talking to God and not spending a lot of time listening to what He may have to say to us. The priest Eli told young Samuel, when the Lord called him, to say: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9 NASB). This is good instruction for us all. Quietly wait for Him to call your name, or to give you instructions for your day…or even just for the moment you find yourself in. Sometimes all you will hear is an affirmation of His great love for you…but you will miss it if you don’t take the time to wait for such an encouragement. Perhaps you will hear nothing…and that is okay too, for you are spending time in His presence. If you have ever just sat quietly with someone you love, you know that sometimes nothing needs to be said…and yet, you know what is in one another’s heart.
8. Am I able to “pray without ceasing”?Think about creating an atmosphere that allows your thoughts to turn towards the Father continually throughout your day much as would happen with a human “love interest” that one would wish to call or make contact with as often as one’s thoughts turned towards this person. What needs to happen in your life in order for Jesus to take first place in your thoughts, so that communing with Him becomes as natural as breathing? Consider prayers of continual gratitude, which is an incredibly powerful way to keep your thoughts fixed upon God.
9. Are my prayers a sweet sacrifice with an aroma pleasing to the Father? God is pleased when His people come to Him in prayer. “God, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears—it’s my voice you’re hearing! Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising; my raised hands are my evening prayers” (Psalm 141:1-2 MSG). Imagine your prayer life as incense rising up to the nostrils of God. How will that change the way you seek Him?

If you will sincerely take time to create a spiritual atmosphere that will attract God’s presence, He will draw near and your communion with Him will be meaningful and rich. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

Some of Kim's Books

This page contains PDFs and Word files that you can download for free. You are free to make copies of these downloads for your use as long as you keep the copyright statements and web links on the copies you make.  Anything you find on this page will greatly bless your life.  Our desire is that God will use these resources and the information contained on the harvestprayer.com website to draw you closer to God and grow the kingdom.