{"id":2628,"date":"2020-10-22T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=2628"},"modified":"2020-10-10T19:54:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T00:54:31","slug":"how-time-consuming-is-prayer-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2020\/10\/22\/how-time-consuming-is-prayer-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TIME-CONSUMING IS PRAYER FOR YOU?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read time: 4 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>\u201cHe will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.\u201d (Psalm 91:15 NIV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quick prayers pack a punch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many of us, culture identifies prayer as time-consuming, requiring a schedule.&nbsp; Praying is reverent, spiritual, and intentional.&nbsp; Creating a lifestyle of prayer isn\u2019t tricky, but does require discipline.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, gave direction on what we are to do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cPray continually.\u201d (<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Thessalonians%205%3A17&amp;version=NIV\"><em>1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV<\/em><\/a><em>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every day we are to fill it with prayer.&nbsp; From the time we awake until we lay our head down at night, we\u2019re to pray.&nbsp; Starting the day off with quiet time, reading the Bible, journaling, etc. begins the conversation.&nbsp; As you make breakfast, shower, and go about your day, don\u2019t stop talking to God.&nbsp; Keep the communication going with quips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tweet prayers to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twitter, a popular social media site, allows 280 characters per post.&nbsp; Anything over that number of letters is not permitted.&nbsp; As a result, people must express their thought within those parameters. An example of the length of tweet\u201d prayers; this paragraph is 279 characters long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can pack a big punch with 280 characters, or even half that number.&nbsp; Not too long ago, Twitter\u2019s maximum character count was 140.&nbsp; People were adept at getting their point across with fewer words.&nbsp; Technology causes us to shorten our communication, so we receive information quickly and efficiently.&nbsp; We can use this new way of thinking to help us talk with God continually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continuous prayer doesn&#8217;t mean long dialogues with eloquent words.&nbsp; Instead, keeping in touch with God throughout your day accomplishes the goal.&nbsp; Unlike your spouse or best friend, God always answers. &nbsp; He has a ready reply to whatever tweet you send. Short, heartfelt prayers are as reverent, spiritual, and intentional as long-winded ones, maybe even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are examples of a 140 character or less prayers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Lord, help me.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Lord, give me words.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Lord, keep my mouth shut.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Lord, bless them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Lord, correct them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Lord, show them the way.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLord, forgive them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you beginning to get the drift?&nbsp; I&#8217;m praying in 140 characters or less you will: &#8220;Lord, eyes to see and ears to hear.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether your conversation with God is short or long isn\u2019t the most crucial part.&nbsp; Acknowledging Him throughout your day is what matters.&nbsp; None of us stay connected 24\/7 to the Higher Power, but He is always waiting when we sign back on to the network.&nbsp; Just like wifi connects us to the internet, prayer connects us to the God of the universe.&nbsp; He set the stars in place; He can help you with whatever problems you\u2019re facing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A prayer&#8217;s length isn\u2019t what matters.&nbsp; Connecting with God continually throughout your day is where the power lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">What short prayers keep you connected to God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Further Reading: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Jeremiah%2039-41&amp;version=NIV\">Jeremiah 39-41NIV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Timothy%201&amp;version=NIV\">2 Timothy 1 NIV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%2090-91&amp;version=NIV\">Psalm 90-91 NIV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Proverbs%2026:1-2&amp;version=NIV\">Proverbs 26:1-2 NIV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read time: 4 minutes \u201cHe will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.\u201d (Psalm 91:15 NIV) Quick prayers pack a punch. For many of us, culture identifies prayer as time-consuming, requiring a schedule.&nbsp; Praying is reverent, spiritual, and intentional.&nbsp; Creating&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2020\/10\/22\/how-time-consuming-is-prayer-for-you\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">HOW TIME-CONSUMING IS PRAYER FOR YOU?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2628"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2632,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628\/revisions\/2632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}