Praying… and sometimes ceasing

I have never really been able to establish a good routine when it comes to prayer.  Just like most other disciplines in my life (exercise, healthy eating), a practice like prayer has come in fits and starts.  One step forward, two steps back.

Usually a week of exuberance and zeal is interrupted by a trip out of town or an early morning meeting or, lets be honest, sheer laziness.

The excitement fades, the old habits settle in, and I’m stuck in a rut once again.

But lately, without putting too much pressure on myself, I have been fairly regularly following a routine.

I keep on my breakfast table a copy of  the Feasting on the Word daily devotional.  More often than not, when I sit down for breakfast, I open it up, use my phone to look up the scriptures, and spend five to ten minutes doing the devotional.

But I have also added on my phone a note that keeps a list of my daily prayers.  Prayers for my husband, for my family, for the work I do, for my friends.  And so as I finish my coffee and move into the rest of the day, I work my way through that prayer list.

That regular practice… although far from consistent… is starting to sink in.  I have started noticing some of those prayers being answered.  And so my petitions are also now filled with thank-yous.

Thanks be to God for simple words, for a good cup of coffee, for patience, and for each new day.