Is it cheating to set up scheduled times to pray?
Using technology for your prayer life
I’ve addressed this before, but I don’t think I have included the idea of setting up automations and technology to help with your prayer life.
Setting up regular times and rhythms of prayer is 100000% okay (actually, I recommend it).
I encourage people to take it a step further.
If you are forgetful, like me, then you might not pay attention or completely forget to follow through on your scheduled times to pray.
So, that’s why I set up automations for myself.
Everyday I have multiple timers and reminders go off reminding me to pray for my wife, my oldest daughter, Claire, and my youngest daughter, Charlotte.
They are all built into my Google Calendar and they go off every single day.
Now, that being said, there are days where I swipe the notification to the side and forget to pray at that specific moment.
And there are still days where I forget to pray even with the reminder.
But, it has created rhythms where I am more likely to pray for my family than not to pray for my family…
…and that’s a rhythm worth having.
You could use whatever apps or tech you want, but finding ways to set reminders, create prayer lists that pop up automatically during a set time frame, etc. are great opportunities to create more healthy rhythms for prayer (and intentional prayer, too).
So don’t ever be afraid to use technology to improve your prayer life.
As long as you have a healthy balance with that technology while you are actively praying, then I am always a supporter to utilize it!
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for the incredible technologies people have created that can help us make our lives better. Spirit, guide us and give us the wisdom to use that technology wisely. Jesus, be with us when those reminders and notifications do pop up! Amen.
Quick note: if you are listening to the voiceover, then you’ll notice I stumbled through this prayer…but left it in the audio. And that’s because I want you to know that it’s okay to fumble and stumble when you pray. It’s alright! God knows what you mean!
Remember
Play around with your calendar app or your notes apps on your phone or computer. See if there is a way to create at least one automated reminder for you to stop and pray throughout your day.