His Ways... Day 4... Suzy Sitarski

Today's devotion... written by Suzy Sitarski... is from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18...

"16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

She also references a couple of other helpful verses on prayer... John 16:23 and Philippians 4:6-7...

Man did Suzy's devotion connect with me today. If you are keeping up, then you'll know that she talked about how when she prays, many times her mind immediately goes to things that she needs to do... call her husband to remind him of something... sign a permission slip for her children and drive it to school... etc... etc...

I think all of us have had that happen. That's a particular struggle of mine in terms of prayer. I am praying and suddenly I think of something that needs to be done... a phone call that needs to be made... plans that need to be finalized... etc... etc...

One of Suzy's suggestions was to pray continually throughout the day for whatever it is that you are working on or whoever you are talking to at the moment. That's good advice.

I would like to add one more idea. When I pray, one thing that I have found helpful is having an index card nearby. When I have a thought of something that I need to do, I write it down. I do this when I read my Bible and have my personal quiet time. Then if I think of something, I write it down. Then I don't have to think to myself... "Now what was it that I was thinking about???" and I'm off somewhere else. Quickly jotting the idea down gets it quickly from my mind to paper so I can remember it later and back to prayer or Scripture reading. Plus, I find that the more often I do that, the more I try to focus so that that list doesn't get longer.

Just a thought.

Hope your day goes well!!

Jim