Prayer–Creating a Habit That Matters

October 16th, 2024
by Matt Townsend

Schedule what you value …

I’ve always been an active person. Some of my first memories are rooted in the playground behind our apartment in Frankfurt, Germany, running around with a kickball, playing keep away with my friends.

Since that time, I’ve participated in almost every sport imaginable, from soccer, track, football, and basketball … even wrestling (because it's required of all kids who grow up in Iowa). I love sports. I love the competition, the athleticism and the cooperative nature of it all.

Since college, I’ve stayed active not just for the sake of my health, but also because I enjoy personal fitness. Since discovering Shaun T’s Insanity workouts in 2009 and Tony Horton’s P90X programs, I’ve been an avid home gym aficionado.

Staying active is a personal value of mine. It helps me stay in shape, eat better, keep my energy up and feel better after a long day at work. It’s something I make time for.

My point is: I’ve made a habit out of something I value. I’ve created space in my schedule, I’ve sacrificed other things I find less important, and I’ve disciplined myself to do these things even when my body doesn’t feel like doing it

While I enjoy fitness, I know it holds fleeting value for eternity. Prayer on the other hand holds value for this life and for the life to come. The challenge is … I know this is true but it’s a truth easy to forget. I can’t see the immediate affects of prayer in my life like I can with fitness, often prayer feels like an arrow, shot into the sky, never to be seen again.

Faith, then, dictates that I make prayer a habit. If I believe prayer matters more than other earthly pursuits, I must prioritize it and make it a habit.

I like what Corrie Ten Boom says, “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.”

Though at times my prayers may feel like lost arrows, they are nothing of the sort to a sovereign God who hears every word I pray. Our prayers are to Him, a sweet smelling aroma that fills his throne room and magnifies His glory. Our prayers are the manifestation of our abiding in His presence and enjoying His company.

So schedule what you value. For me, I spend about 15-20 minutes with the Lord before I run out the door to drop off the kids and get to work. I open my Bible, I read for about 5-10 minutes, then I respond to what I read in prayer. This is my daily scheduled habit because I know my time with God matters. If I don’t schedule this, it likely won’t happen.

Just yesterday, I found myself deep in prayer, not saying much. I just kept telling the Lord, “Father, I just want to be with you, near you, in your presence, in your company. Thank you for allowing me to freely enter.”

Not much was said other than that. Yet, I spent about 20 minutes, just there … as things came to mind, I laid them at His feet … my wife, my kids, my hopes, my dreams, my hurts, our people… I just spent time with Him.

Don’t overthink prayer, just pray. I think our enemy revels in getting us to overthink what is meant to be very simple. Just talk to God. Tell Him what you think, how you feel, why you are happy, sad, thankful, depressed. Tell Him what you think of His word, what you understand or don’t. Give Him your questions and your doubts. Don’t overthink it, just pray. And the more you do it, the more enriching it will become.

Schedule what you value, sacrifice for it, cut other things out of your life for the sake of prayer and watch God bring your soul back to life!