Inspiration. Expiration. Respiration. Breathing.
On average, adults at rest breathe 16 times per minute. That’s 960 times an hour. That’s 23,040 times per day!
Each new breath is as indispensable as the last. For no breath equals no life.
Just as firmly as life itself depends on each next breath, our spiritual lives depend on our continuous communication with God through prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 puts it simply, “pray without ceasing.”
We breathe without ceasing. Without reminders, without scheduling, without memos to prompt us to inhale and exhale. It’s an automatic response to the body’s need for oxygen.
Prayer, on the other hand, has sometimes been presented as an act confined to certain customary times or places:
…at church on Sunday mornings
…prior to bedtime at night
…before meals
…after a tragedy
…during a personal difficulty or as cry for help
And yes, these all represent appropriate times to pray. But if prayer is restricted to just those traditionally accepted areas, our spiritual lives suffer from what I like to call Prayer Apnea.
In medical terminology, the prefix a- means absence of or without. The root word -pnea means breathing or respiration. Put together, apnea is simply defined as the absence of breathing.
Perhaps you’re familiar with the term sleep apnea, a condition in which a person’s breathing either frequently stops and restarts during sleep or it’s so shallow that adequate airflow and air exchange is not achieved. The pauses in between breathing can last anywhere from a few seconds to minutes and can occur 30 or more times per hour.* That’s a lot of missed breaths! Missed opportunities to release what doesn’t belong (carbon dioxide) and accept what’s necessary (oxygen).
A similar condition is epidemic among Christians. Prayer apnea. Either no prayer because it’s not seen as a necessity or such infrequency in praying because it’s not seen as a priority.
But existing without prayer is like taking a trip without the use of a map or a GPS device, to an unfamiliar city in a state you’ve never visited. No sense of direction. No confidence of distance to travel. No estimation of time required to reach the destination. Simply wandering…and wondering if you’re on the right road.
But the wonder of the Christian life is that God has made Himself accessible to us at any moment of the day or night to communicate with Him. And honestly, that’s the distilled, core essence of prayer…communication with God. Conversing with the Savior. Talking…and more importantly, listening.
“But how?” you may propose. “I have such a busy life, with the demands of a boss, a mate, children, friends, family, patients, clients, and myself pulling me in hundreds of directions at once. How do I make time to pray in the midst of all of that?” Or perhaps, “I always seem to be on the move. I don’t have time for a long, drawn-out prayer session on my knees every day.”
My response to you (and me) is two-fold. One, we always make time for what we think is a priority. If suddenly breathing became difficult for you, perhaps due to an allergic reaction or a breathing condition like asthma, your first concern wouldn’t be the demands on your life or your to-do list for the day. The primary priority would be to get help…911, an inhaler, oxygen…to open the airway, to sustain life.
We cannot function optimally when our spiritual airways are constricted or closed off to the life-giving, life-sustaining communication with the One who is our Life (John 14:6). Without prayer, we are spiritual asthmatics, going through life gasping for air when the Inhaler is readily available, inviting His frequent use.
Secondly, we need to be liberated from the premise that God expects long, expansive prayers at least once a day. You know, like they do in church. One big prayer in the morning to start the day off right, and if I have time, another big one before going to bed at night. Like bookends of my day.
But isn’t that like taking one big breath in the morning and expecting it to sustain me until the next big breath at night? And what if I fall asleep before I get that next breath in? That’s a full 24 hours on one breath. And what if I wake up late the next morning and don’t have time to breathe in that next breath for fear I’ll be late to work? And what if I’m too exhausted from being behind on day 2 that I fall asleep again without taking in that next breath? Sound absurd to you, too?That is not the essence of prayer.
Like breathing, develop an automatic response to communicate with God throughout the day (Ephesians 6:18). Whether that’s listening to Him speak, making your requests known, or simply giving thanks.
Access to Him is not limited to a certain time of the day or day of the week. Nor should His access to us be relegated to a specific time we designate to fit Him into our schedules.
Prayers are reminders to us that He is ever-present and involved in the “right-now”-ness of our lives, not reserved only for a customary time or place.
He is involved in that diagnosis…invite His wisdom in making the right one.
He knows the best treatment for that specific patient…ask for His insight in medication selection.
He sees that everything is going wrong in your day…thank Him for His presence with you in it.
He is aware of your desire to make healthier food choices…invoke His help to resist those donuts your coworker brought in (then practically…leave the break-room…without the donut).
Give Him thanks in the very moment you experience unexpected blessings…or any blessings at all.
He understands the demands on your life…submit your to-do list to Him, asking for wisdom for what is immediate, what is expedient, and what should be deleted to maximize your effectiveness.
There is no subject off-limits in prayer. Jesus is our great High Priest as described in Hebrews 4:14-16. He already knows our weaknesses, our propensities, our temptations, and our concerns. He experienced them all in His human frame and yet didn’t sin. So, that qualifies Him to not only sympathize with what we encounter, but provide victory for us in what we face.
And if that wasn’t enough, He gives an open invitation to draw near with confidence to His throne of grace. He is as near to you as your next breath (Psalm 145:18). He’s waiting to dispense grace, mercy, and practical help in the time of need.
God is concerned with what concerns you. He has extended the invitation. And He’s available at any time of your choosing when you decide to breathe…a prayer.
*http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea