If I'm not careful, I find myself rattling off my morning prayers like items on a child's Christmas list. Then I say "amen," hang up the hotline to God, shut off the cosmic computer, and run out to tackle the day. Then my day looks like this lady.
Hester Sue wakes up excited about the new day and starts out with great intentions. She jumps into the shower and sends up a prayer for everyone—her kids, husband, her boss, his boss, her parents, the pastor, and even the neighbors to the north who are never very friendly. Then she towels off, says amen, and sails into the day feeling pretty prayed up. Halfway to work, her cell phone rings, and it's her oldest, Susie, "Mom, Tommy missed the bus again."
"Put him on." Hester Sue feels her temperature rise as she grips the steering wheel. "You are so busted, Mister. No phone, no T.V., and no video games. I can't believe you did this again. Is it so hard to get yourself ready in the morning? For crying out loud, you're almost ten. How hard can this be? You haven't heard the last of this. We will finish this later, Young Man!" Then she hangs up the phone just as she hears her dejected son whimper on the other end of the line.
Hester Sue barely gains her composure as she pulls into the parking lot at work. Just as she exits the car, the door handle comes off in her hand. "Oh, that's just great," she mumbles to herself. "How many times have I had this into the repair shop? Those guys are such a bunch of rip-offs!" So she shoves the handle into her purse, sucks back her mounting anger, and marches into work. As she enters the outer office, her mood worsens as she spots the secretary's desk empty—again. "How many days off do they give this woman? Fabulous, another day of her work and my work too." The sarcasm doesn't make things better, but by now, she's beyond the point of caring.
She rounds the corner to her cubicle and notices a note penned in black ink taped to the entrance. It's from her boss castigating her for not turning out the lights when she left work yesterday. "Oh, my gosh! I did forget. I can't deny it. I rushed out of there to get Susie to the orthodontist, and I forgot to flip the switch. Now I've managed to tick off the administration. Well, I can kiss that raise goodbye." Now angry, guilty, and utterly frustrated, she rushes to the restroom to melt down and runs into Jenny, who works in the cubicle beside her. Jenny opens her mouth, stepping on Hester's reserve nerve, and Hester rips her head off! And Jenny's the gal she's been trying to get to church.
Let's rewind Hester Sue's miserable day and try it with the “Daily Dialogue.” Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-8, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Hester thoroughly and earnestly laid her petitions before the Lord. But the day proved to have more anxiety than she could handle, and she found herself in desperate need of some peace. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 advises us to, "pray continually." So today Hester Sue stays connected with the Lord all day long. She jumps into the shower and prays for everyone and the cat, but this time she doesn't say amen. She doesn't hang up the phone or click off the computer. She stays online with the Lord.
She launches into her day and halfway to work, she gets a call from her daughter informing her that, once again Tommy has failed to catch the bus, and Hester Sue prays, "Dear Lord, please don't let me kill my son!" She takes a deep breath and pulls into the parking lot at work. As she's opening the door, the handle comes off in her hand, and she immediately accesses the Lord's help not to say awful things about the repairman, who continues to insist, "It's fixed. You must be letting your kids swing on it."
Hester Sue heads through the door at work and notices a vacancy in the front office. This time she immediately prays for the sick secretary instead of deriding her. She's starting to feel some of that peace that Paul talks about in Philippians as she trades her anxiety for answers. She knows how to respond in life's situations because she's tuned in to God's frequency and He's supplying all that she needs "according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19.
Rounding the corner, she spots the note from her boss, but constant communion with the Lord has been filling her tank all morning, so she isn't derailed by her manager's hate mail. Instead, she takes ownership of her part and purposes to do better in the future. When Jenny approaches, Hester is prayed up and presentable, and she doesn't wreck her Christian witness in the workplace!
I believe that the Daily Dialogue, that continued communication with the Lord, determines the difference between despondence and abundance. But you don't have to trust me. Try it for yourself. I'm fond of saying, "Then watch how God shows up." But the reality is that God is always there we just aren't tuned in enough to notice. My goal is to stay tuned in. How about you?
From Healing the Hurts That Are Holding You Back