Martha Schedule, "Mary" Heart

Does the Apostle Paul's command to "pray without ceasing" ever make you stop and think, Easy for him to say! He didn't have my schedule.

Certainly Paul never corralled a houseful of energetic kids on a school day or taught children's church to three-year-olds. Never worked full time in a high-pressure, demanding job while keeping up an active social life. Never cared for aging parents and juggled multiple responsibilities that many of today's busy women do on a daily basis.

Since we obviously can't make more hours in the course of a day, it becomes imperative that we become more skilled in finding ways to connect with God. How do we even begin to 'go there?'

A clearer vision - of the gift of prayer, the gift of sitting at Jesus' feet, and the gift of women's friendships. These three things can put us in just the right spot to learn first-hand of the all-out power of coming to God right smack in the middle of the tornado of everyday life.

A happy and content woman has learned that the Apostle Paul's command to "pray without ceasing" really means to to simply share a continual dialogue with God wherever she goes and in whatever she does.

Sometimes it's easy to think, If I don't pray at a certain time of day or in a certain way, or even a certain place, my prayers don't really count. It's tough to maintain any kind of joy when we regard prayer as an obligation, just another thing to mark off of our to-do list.

The truth is that God hears the prayers of our heart.

• He hears them when we're driving down the freeway.
• He hears them when we're working out on the treadmill.
• He hears them while we shower.
• He hears them while we're on the job.
• He hears them in the day, in the night, and all the times in between.

He hears our every prayer.

Think for a minute how very much you enjoy talking to your best friend. Think how thrilled you are when your child or your grandkids call you. Think how good it makes you feel to spend even a few spare minutes with those that you care about.

God loves to hear our voice. He "inclines his ear" and is open to hear our prayers. (Psalm 10:17; 40:1; 34:15)

Whether you're married or single, with or without children, twenty-something, midlife, or an Empty Nester, you've probably struggled at some point with your prayer life, just as I have. The good news is that neither your life not your prayer ever needs to be put on hold.

They go together - very well - and we're going to learn how to do that together.