A Breath of Fresh Prayer

God certainly works in mysterious ways. I asked the Lord to help me find work this spring. After a few months of banging on closed doors and running down dead ends He led me to the job I have now. When He offered it to me, my first thought was, “You want me to work there?!” I was pleased with the manager and the fact that my cousin would be one of my co-workers, but other than that I saw it as a very secular, distressing environment. Before my first shift I remember sitting in my car, slightly terrified and praying for enough grace to get through the day. The first day seemed to go well. So I experimented. The next few shifts I sat in my car before work and this time I prayed specifically for help accomplishing certain sales goals for the company. Apparently these goals were a bit higher than average for a new employee and even better results than some of the long-time veterans were turning out. I wasn’t aware of these limitations, however (what you don’t know won’t hurt you ), and miraculously received everything I prayed for. I got excited. This is pretty cool! I took it a step further and began to develop a habit of praying over everything I could think of before and during the job: my sales, quick learning of new tasks, my interactions with everyone around me… Now, despite being constantly bombarded with various forms of twisted and depressing media, I leave work feeling sort of refreshed. It’s so strange. My dad used to impress upon us the importance of living in “a constant state of prayer” and I believe this is the secret. By keeping in constant communion with the Lord, our spirits can be edified no matter where we are, like Paul in prison, David in a cave, Daniel as a servant in a wicked city. The books of Galatians and Ephesians instruct us to live in this way:

Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” and Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.“

…and I Peter tells us why: 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.“

Prayer should be a natural to us as “taking a breath of air”. It’s certainly just as refreshing. So take a deep breath this morning and expect great things to happen. I promise… it’s exhilarating.