This is the one-hundred-fifty-sixth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.

Whether you’re a student, or spend most of your day at home, or work in a factory, the principles of praying throughout the day are the same. Paul said: “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).

Many Christians describe this way of praying as “the practice of the presence of God.” Three hundred years ago a cook and a cleaner wrote an inspiring diary in which he explained that his greatest passion in life was to grow spiritually to the point that he was in a constant state of awareness of God’s good presence. Nicholas Herman, or Brother Lawrence, as he was later called, worked in a Parisian monastery. He called himself “a servant of the servants of God.” By seeking a continual sense of the presence of God he prayed and worshipped as he cooked and as he cleaned.

He gradually moved away from using set prayers which seemed merely routine. He said, “I make it my business only to persevere in his holy presence wherein I keep myself by a simple attention and a general fond regard to God, which I refer to as an actual presence of God. Or, to put it another way, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God.”

He worried that some may think his method suspicious. “I know that some will accuse me of inactivity, of delusion, and of self-love. I confess that it is a holy inactivity, and would be a happy self-love if the soul in that state were capable of it…”

And he was probably right. Christians are absolutely notorious for being judgmental about the devotional practices of other Christians that just look a little different from what they’re used to. What God must think of us for scrutinizing the most intimate part of each other’s lives and having the audacity to reject each other on such grounds.

This much surely any Christian will embrace: there can be nothing better than for us to be so God-conscious, so God-centered, that our thoughts, words, and deeds throughout ordinary days flow as a response to him. Does our own fallenness stand in the way of this? Certainly. Should we guard ourselves against spiritual triumphalism? Yes. But despite that, we should never hold back from the desire to have a close a daily communion with God as we can.

Some of the most powerful prayers are voiced in a single sentence.

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Jesus said a despised tax collector praying that prayer went home justified, in contrast to a Pharisee using high and mighty (and self-righteous) words in his prayer. Prayer is not for show.

It’s good for us to have some one-sentence prayers we’ve memorized that we can pray easily, quickly, and in response to changing circumstances throughout the day. Here are some suggested prayers. You may want to choose some to commit to memory.

[from Prayers for Our Lives]
One-Sentence Prayers for Daily Patterns

• Thank you for this new day and a fresh start.
• As I lay down to go to sleep, let me rest in the knowledge of your goodness and love.
• Grant me patience, dear Lord.
• Protect my children today, Lord, and let them see you in every choice they make.
• Your blessings are abundant, dear Lord, and so we thank you for this meal.
• Help me to forgive, dear God, as you have forgiven me.
• I submit myself to you, gracious Lord.
• Help me to be patient and forbear other people today, dear God.
• As I read your word now, dear God, open my eyes to the depth of your truth.

One-Sentence Prayers for Special Help

• My heart is broken right now, O God.
• Grant me wisdom, God, for this important decision.
• Help me to hold on.
• I am fearful today, O God. I need your peace.
• Help me to make the decision that will honor you.

One-Sentence Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving

• Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your creation.
• I praise you, God, whatever this day may bring.
• Thank you for saving me, Lord God.
• I praise you, O God, because your goodness never changes.
• Prepare my heart to worship you now, O God, in spirit and in truth.

One-Sentence Prayers for Those in Need

• Please heal this person who needs your healing—mind, heart, and body.
• Help me to see this person as you do.
• Give me compassion for the poor, dear God.

FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION:

1. When has prayer come easily for you, and when has it been difficult?

2. What are the circumstances of conditions that are most conducive to prayer for you? Why is that?
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More about “prayer in everyday life” here.

[See previous – Hesitation and Prayer]
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Mel Lawrenz (@MelLawrenz) trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s teaching pastor. He has a PhD in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel’s many books include Spiritual Leadership Today: Having Deep Influence in Every Walk of Life (Zondervan, 2016). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.