Praying for what you can do RIGHT NOW
Not the most urgent thing, but the most important thing
I ask myself often whether or not something is “urgent” or “important.”
I had a mentor once teach me that every choice or action falls under some combination of urgent, important, or “not.”
[Example] We need to buy groceries (important, but not urgent unless you need something immediately for some reason).
[Example] My daughter has a broken leg (urgent AND important).
Hopefully that makes sense.
Because, sometimes, I can get caught in this decision-making process unable to figure out what step to take next. But, being able to recognize what is urgent vs important or both…it helps get me unstuck.
The same is true in our prayer lives, especially when things get dark…
…everything sucks, “so is it more important to pay my mortgage or urgent to pay a credit card bill? Father, what should I do?”
Your example might be different, obviously, but I bet you’ve felt stuck in a decision or stuck on what to even pray about before.
Realistically, we all probably have at one time or another.
And Jesus reminds us to pray, “May your [God’s] will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Because Jesus knows what it means to be unsure what you can do right now when so much is happening all around you. It’s exactly why he asked Peter to step out onto the water.
Jesus knows that fear and “stuck-ness” can lock us up, making it difficult to do anything.
So praying for God’s will over your own, is an easy way to remind yourself how to get unstuck. By doing whatever God has for you in the next moment.
That might be stepping onto a turbulent sea or paying your important bills before the urgent ones or sending a birthday card to your grandma instead of watching TikTok…
My prayer for today
Our Father, help me get unstuck. Jesus, show me what I can do right now to act in God’s will. Spirit, slap me in the face to wake me out of my stuckness if that’s what it takes. Amen.
Remember
When in doubt, reminding yourself of what work you can do in the kingdom (helping those in need, shepherding your family, being the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus, etc.) right in this moment can help you get out of a rut.