You’d be amazed what you can accomplish in a minute.

What holds a lot of people back from prayer is the feeling that if I can’t go into isolation and completely focus and pray for an hour, my prayer won’t count.

As a pastor, my typical day is formed around minutes, not hours of prayer.

As a pastor I live in the shadow of men like Martin Luther who is quoted as saying, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” (Rev. Luther may have done that only a few times in his life, but his quote has become a benchmark regarding the priority of prayer, especially for pastors.)

Luther also said, “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.”

Now that’s where I am coming from.

A prayer need not be wordy to be worthy of being heard.

I know that prayer changes lives. Praying will change your life and those you pray for.

My mission is to get people praying, everyday. A minute is a good starting point, isn’t it?

I pray at my kitchen table,

at my desk in my office,

in my car (with my eyes open),

at Starbucks,

waiting in my dentist’s reception area,

at railroad crossings (“Lord, how long IS this train?”)

and while reading my Bible.

Some readers would say, “That’s not really praying?” Oh, no?  There is a succinct statement made about prayer in the Bible that reads, “Pray without ceasing.”

That says to me, “Be a minute manager of prayer.”

4 Aspects of Managing A Minute in Prayer

1. To pray without ceasing means the use of your voice is not essential to answered prayer. If only verbalized prayers were answerable then no one could “pray without ceasing.”

2. To pray without ceasing means the posture of prayer is not important to answered prayer. If you had to be on your knees to have your prayers answered we could not pray without ceasing.

3. To pray without ceasing means the place of prayer is not a deal breaker. If God only answered prayers prayed in a confession booth or in a church then we could not pray without ceasing.

4. To pray without ceasing means that no particular time of the day (early morning) creates the best potential for answers to prayer. If early mornings or Sundays or the first week of January were the best time to pray then we could not pray without ceasing.

What “praying without ceasing” also means is there is no time or place when we cannot pray. God invites us to pour out our heart to Him at any time and in any place. We don’t have to build “up speed” or get “in the right attitude” to be effective. He invites us to pray, whenever and wherever.

It also means that we should never give up on praying. Do you feel like you don’t have enough faith? Don’t let that hold you back. Do you feel you are not good enough for God to hear you? Don’t let that hinder you. Do you feel like “no one is listening to my prayer?” Don’t give in to that doubt. What if you don’t “feel” anything when you pray? Feeling always follows action. Pray.

Got a minute? Why not talk to God right where you are…now.

Start a habit of being a minute manager.

APPLICATION: Let me know you’ve become a “Minute Manager.” Leave a comment below or send an email to info@northpointechurch.ca. Include your name and “MM.”

Thank you!