Too Busy to Pray? Not Necessarily…

A few years ago, Willow Creek Church pastor and author Bill Hybels released a cleverly-titled book: Too Busy Not to Pray.  In my mind I know it is true: so many things need to be prayed about, with so much happening in my life and so many needs in the church.  But, in my life, when I am honest, I acknowledge that–too often–I am indeed “too busy to pray.” What to do?

How can we, whatever our role, be a bigger blessing to the people we serve as we strive to deepen our prayer life?  Here is something that has helped me, and I hope (and pray) that it will help you, too: take advantage of moments when you sing, and use a simple song as a framework for prayer.

These moments may include commuting in your car, folding laundry…or my favourite: power-walking on a treadmill.  A simple song that can work is, “In Our Lives, Lord, Be Glorified” (Lift Up Your Hearts #861 or “Lord, Be Glorified” in Sing! A New Creation #43).

The first verse goes like this:

          In our lives, Lord, be glorified, be glorified; In our lives, Lord, be glorified today.

Other verses mention, “In our homes, Lord…” “In your church, Lord…” and “In your world, Lord…”

The verses are easily adaptable to any ministry you would like to pray about.  So, let’s say you are a deacon commuting to work…your singing-prayer could go like this…

          In First CRC, Lord, be glorified, be glorified;

          In First CRC, Lord, be glorified today.

Then, the following verses could go like this…

          Through the deacons, Lord, be glorified…(etc.)

          Through the elders and other leaders, Lord…

          Through our pastor, Lord…

          Through our general membership, Lord…

          As we serve the community, Lord…

With some creativity (and flexibility with the syllables!) you can make the prayer especially relevant to any ministry situation…some examples:

          As I finish my workplan, Lord…

          As we develop our COS, Lord…

Of course, these song-prayers don’t have to be “solo-only.”  Why not sing this prayer at your next meeting?  As the Spirit leads, you can ask for suggestions for each of the verses, up-front or in-between verses: “In the foodbank, Lord!” “Through our small groups, Lord!” and so on.

Yes, we are busy.  But we are too busy not to pray.  May the Lord be glorified (and the people you serve be blessed) as you take advantage of singing-moments as opportunities for prayer.

 

Doug VandeKamp is a Diaconal Ministry Developer for Classis Toronto, and also a Pastor available for a call in the Christian Reformed Church.

Click here for more information on Diaconal Ministry Developers (DMD) or to find the DMD for your Classis.