I recently purchased some prayer beads made of olive word. These aren’t just any prayer beads. These beautiful beads are called Pray and Pause beads. What a wonderful idea! In between each prayer bead is a smaller bead. The idea is that when my fingers move from the larger bead to the smaller bead, it’s time to pause to listen and reflect.
Wouldn’t it be great if I approached my prayer life that way on a regular basis? What would happen if, when I stopped to pray about a situation, I also paused to allow God to speak into my heart or take action in my life?
Here are some thoughts about how I can do this:
- I can pray for peace, and then pause to allow God to fill me with His calming presence.
- I can pray for wisdom, and then pause to allow God to give me the right words to say, or show me the right actions to take.
- I can pray for guidance, and then pause to allow God to show me where He is leading.
- I can pray for patience and compassion for difficult people, and then pause to allow God to equip me with the right attitude.
- I can pray for courage, and then pause for God to clothe me in His armor.
Whatever I pray for, I need to pause and wait patiently for God to do His will in His time. Do you need to add some pauses to your prayers?
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
~Isaiah 40:31 NRSV