Practice Religion Religiously

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7

I check Twitter religiously. At least once a day – and honestly, it’s probably close to half a dozen – I get online or open the app to see what people are talking about. There are very few days that go by without me checking my feed for updates. It’s admittedly ridiculous.

I’ve realized lately that while I practice social media religiously, I don’t practice religion religiously. I read my Bible sometimes, I pray when I remember to, I worship if I happen to hear the right kind of song on the radio – but I don’t find myself in the habit of doing it every day, I do it when things are not going well or when I’m upset. Here in Philippians Paul encourages us to pray about everything. The big things, the little things, the scary things, the wonderful things – God wants all the things. He wants us to talk to him about what we want, and thank him for what He’s done, and in return, he will grant us peace.

In these short verses, Paul gives us the secret to a life of peace: prayer and time spent with God. And not just any peace; but “God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” I have had those moments in my life where I stand still and cry out to God; and afterwards I feel like my heart has been cleansed and that everything is going to work out. That’s God’s peace – and all we have to do to get it is hang out with God.

Let’s be more intentional about prayer. Even if it is just taking a minute to say grace before dinner, set aside a specific time to talk with God.