I started my day with some stretching of the legs and knees. A cup of Door County Dublin's Delight Coffee sits next to me. and prayer time woke me up.
There is so much junk going on in the United States about when it is a a proper time or place for people to pray. I will say this, that if given a lunch break or a coffee break at work, that is a good time to spend in prayer. Work rules should be followed at all times. You will see the other side of this coin in a minute. If there are specific times called out by a person's faith to pray it should be worked out with the employer and employee to see if this is feasible. It all depends on the work situation. Again the work rules set forth by the employer should be followed. Prayer in schools, sporting events, public gatherings should be allowed. You can't keep God out of anywhere He wants to be.
Let's look at what I did just before knee replacement surgery. Just before going to the operating room I prayed privately with my wife Rene. She was worried about the procedures and what the next few hours could bring.
Once the operating team had me in place and just before I was going to be sedated, I asked for a "time out". One of the physicians asked me why. My reply " I want to pray for all of us before we go any further." He stopped the whole team, which was easy to do. My request for a time out to pray had stopped them cold in their tracks. As I began to pray, heads bowed around the room and I prayed for God to bless those in the room and their families. I asked Him to guide their skilled hands during the procedure. I asked again for God to comfort my family and friends during the operation. I also thanked God for being right there with me. I finished my prayer and thanked all of them for thier work on me.
A day later as I was convalescing in a regular patient room two caregivers who were in the operating room the day before came individually to visit me and thank me for praying for them that day. My time with God somehow touched their hearts and they said it was just what they needed right there and then. God accomplished more than just a successful knee surgery that day. He was operating on hearts in that same room.
A good friend of mine told me about how he had done this before a surgical procedure he was having a couple years ago.I always said that when my knees were replaced that it would be prayer time in that operating room. So what do I say about prayer time? Prayer time is a spiritual event that needs to take place in the lives of Christians. But we should be ready to pray at any time, or any place. The following verse does not tell us to pray 24/7. It tells us to be spiritual and pray whenever we can. Prayer can be done while driving. When I see a car accident I pray for those involved. When something tragic happens and it is in the news and I hear about it. I pray for those impacted the most by this or how the Holy Spirit leads me to pray.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So our lives are an open prayer book. Be anxious for nothing, pray.
Marty
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