Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer GuideDraw Near: A Lenten Devotional Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeSabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond our AppetitesA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationPrayers of the New TestamentPrayers of the Old TestamentPersonality Type in CongregationsSabbathA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelDeath in Dunedin: A NovelBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeFriendingAdvent Devotional

Praying about the flow of time: Praying for our ordinary lives

Lynne Baab • Tuesday July 8 2025

Praying about the flow of time: Praying for our ordinary lives

We recently had house guests from New Zealand, including a darling four-year-old girl. At one meal, she told us about a fall that required a trip to urgent care. “My chin split open!” she said cheerfully. “There was blood everywhere!”

Her facial expression and tone of voice contrasted with her words, so I said, “That sounds scary. Were you scared?”

She replied in the same tone of voice, “Mummy was with me.”

Sadly, we have far too many moments of fear in our everyday lives. I’m sure you can remember moments when your awareness of God’s presence with you gave you some measure of peace in the midst of fear. “Mummy was with me.”

Thank you, God of shalom, for the moments when we know your peace simply because you are with us. Give us more of those moments, we pray.

“Surely, I am with you always,” Jesus says (Matthew 28:20). He is echoing the beautiful words of Psalm 46. Here are a few verses:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. . . .
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. (vv. 1-4, 7)

As a young Christian, I loved retreats and conferences—the outstanding speakers, amazing music, gorgeous settings, and interesting people to talk to. For me, those were special occasions where I met God afresh.

I recently interviewed some friends about their experience of walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain three times. They described an adventure of trusting in God and in companions. Sometimes we need that boost of something extraordinary to energize our ordinary lives, and pilgrimage provides it. No wonder pilgrimage is growing in popularity these days.

Now, I find that I am passionate about experiencing God’s presence in my ordinary days: Meal preparation and watering plants. Riding my exercise bicycle and swimming. Reading novels, magazines, and news. Talking with my husband, Dave, at meals and meeting up with friends. Looking at flowers and trees and clouds. Sitting at my laptop writing. And yes, wounds that take me to urgent care.

I'll remind you that we are in the church season of Ordinary Time. If we don’t meet God in our ordinary lives, we miss so much richness of daily support, guidance, encouragement, hope, and peace. Jesus walks with us on once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimages. Jesus helps us draw near in new or refreshed ways on mission trips and at conferences. Jesus is also close to us in everyday life. Praise God for the varied ways we can draw near.

I still remember an article in our church newsletter from 30 years ago. When I saw the title, “Man Eats Breakfast with God,” I thought, what? The author, a man I knew reasonably well, wrote about a day when he chose to eat his breakfast without grabbing a newspaper or magazine to read and without turning on music. Nothing except God’s companionship at that breakfast table.

I remember the way the article stopped me in my tracks. I wonder if three decades ago, I was still looking for God mostly in the extraordinary while God was also inviting me to notice Jesus’s companionship in the ordinary.

God beyond the stars, thank you that you visited our Earth in Jesus, and that you continue to be with us and in us through the Holy Spirit. Lord of hosts, help us sense your presence with us. Be our refuge. Jesus, help us figure out the best places, habits, and practices that enable us to experience your presence with us. Guide us into your paths so that we can be aware that we are walking with you every day.

֍ ֍ ֍

Next week: more about Ordinary Time. Illustration by Dave Baab.

Related posts:

֍ ֍ ֍

Two ways to subscribe.

If you’d like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up below under “subscribe.” That email and the posts on this blog are free and accessible for all.

If you’d like to help me cover the expenses for this blog and website, plus get a bonus post every month, you can subscribe on Patreon for $3 or $6 per month. My bonus posts focus on one or more of the hundreds of vivid quotations I’ve collected over five decades.



Next post »« Previous post