Daily Prayer

I've been going on about this the last while. We Christians have important work to do in this regard; something that must be done. I've been suggesting StB people start out with seven minutes a day praying through the Prayers of the People list in our Sunday bulletins. Today I found this from Anglican Essentials Canada's Garth Hunt over at Anglican Mainstream:

For the next few days, it was almost as if the Lord was walking at my side, with a stopwatch in His hands, and together we began to find some time each day that otherwise was either squandered or spent with my mind and spirit in “neutral”. Let me share some of these “redeemed” moments: -

• ten minutes in the shower and shaving (I’m normally really in neutral here) spent in quiet, conscious worship


• twenty minutes in the car driving to work (I really don’t need to hear the weather forecast 3 times) spent praying for our Rector, Curate and wardens


• six minutes standing in line at TD Bank waiting to make a deposit (they now have large LCD TV screens for you to watch) spent again in worship and expressing my love to Jesus. In fact, I felt drawn to commit myself to worship every time I’m in a queue, whether it’s at the grocery store, the post office, the airport (lot’s of them there!) or even waiting in line for a movie.


• a fifteen minute “prayer walk” on my lunch hour, exercising both my body and my spirit, spent in interceding for the leadership of Essentials and the Anglican Communion world-wide.


• a five minute prayer “break” during my afternoon at work spent in the gentle recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the simple prayer of gratitude, “Thank You, Father”.


• twenty minutes driving home from work (frequently in the past consumed by listening to some mindless dissection of the Maple Leafs’ most recent losing streak) spent in bringing before our Father the needs of our parish family, whether it be financial provision, physical healing, employment issues or comfort in the times of bereavement.


• momentary bursts of joyful, silent prayer during the commercials of a TV show I watch with my wife and family. Rather than being offended by such “casual” prayer, I believe that the Lord delights in our learning to focus on Him, whatever we are doing.


• five minutes in brushing my teeth (and the dreaded flossing) spent in thanksgiving for the day, and His loving care and provision for my family and me

I realize it's more than 7 minutes but there are some good creative ideas about how to get the work done.