How often do you find yourself getting so caught up in what you are doing that you don’t think about asking God for his assistance? 

While I may start my day by asking for the Lord’s blessing and spending some time with him in prayer, as the day progresses I get caught up in whatever I am doing and totally forget to bring him into what is confronting me or ask for his help.  This may be particularly true if I consider the task I am facing important or has a deadline. 

Just the other day, I received a letter from one of the airlines that they had suspended my miles program because my “email had been compromised.”  I had no indication that there was any problem with my email account.  Instead of stopping to bring the Lord into the situation and asking for his help in guiding my next steps, I hurriedly searched for the phone number of my email provider, which I had difficulty locating.  After multiple efforts I finally found someone who said they could check for me.  After a lengthy period, they concluded that they could not find any indication of a problem. 

Next I called the airline to inform them that the email provider found no evidence of a compromise, but they still had me go through a lengthy process of providing an ID update to reinstate the account.  Only toward the end of that conversation did I realize that I had never sought the Lord’s presence to give me wisdom in how to resolve the problem with his peace. 

St. Paul encourages us to “Pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Th. 5:17) In another letter he says, “The Lord is near.  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.”  (Phil. 4:6-7) 

Years ago, I read a book entitled Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawerance.  His premise was that in all things we should be aware God’s presence and bring him into every moment of our lives. 

Perhaps we could make it a habit to let our minds and thoughts continuously communicate with God.  Moment by moment, we can let God be our continuous companion asking him what we should do or say next.