A Little Attention Supports You Through the Storm

I used to think the only to pray was to sit for a long time and read many pages. I used to think that when Saint Paul said pray without ceasing, he meant that I could not say a word that was not a prayer. I used to think the only way correct time spent with God was a lot of time.

I was rarely successful in this type of prayer. I found it tiring and easy to be distracted during such long prayer sessions. I could pay attention during the Divine Liturgy because there was ‘enough going on’ that I wasn’t too distracted. There was something about standing in front of my icons for long periods of time that I just couldn’t get through.

My spiritual father gave me the best advice to push through my struggle. “Not all prayer needs to be long,” he said. He taught me what we called ‘sprinkled’ prayer. I would begin and end my day with basic ‘non-negotiable’ prayers. Then as time allowed and my desire determined, I would add additional prayers throughout the day. I learned to “sprinkle” my prayers here and there. The next thing I knew I was praying more than ever before. It just wasn’t all at once, and sometimes it wasn’t in front of my icons.

Maybe you’re wondering what brings my thoughts here today. You may not know I enjoy working in my yard and garden. This is where I sit with my coffee and blog. The past few days I’ve been looking at a tree which had lost its supports during a recent storm. It was leaning so far that I was afraid it might break. I didn’t have the time to spend in the yard the past couple days, putting on work clothes, getting out tools, etc. So, I just looked at the tree.

This morning, I remembered ‘sprinkled prayer’ and decided to walk over and ‘just see’ if it was a quick fix. Sure enough, I was finished in a matter of two minutes. Enough, that it provided me with today’s blog. It didn’t require a long-drawn-out project. I just needed a little attention.

The next time you are sitting wondering if you have enough time to pray, try sprinkling some prayer over your day. It may not take hours at a time but added up it will support you during the storm. My tree is ready for the next storm. Give your prayer a little attention and be read for the next storm.