TOO BUSY TO PRAY

Is it just me or can prayer be quite intimidating at times? With our hearts in the right place we kneel down, desiring to spend time with God but find our minds drifting off just 5 minutes into the prayer.

It can be hard to contend in the secret place because our flesh is always opposing prayer and is hostile to the things of the Spirit. It's a constant battle to be and remain prayerful. We all want a thriving and powerful prayer life but it doesn't come easy.

One of the enemies strategies to keep us from praying is to convince us that we're just too busy to pray. That we don't have the time and capacity to be prayerful like others. There are thousands of distractions each and everyone of us face that want our attention whenever it's time to spend time with God. From social media, work, hobbies and just the everyday things of life something is always going on. But the truth is that none of us are too busy to pray. It's a lie from the pit of he'll to keep believers powerless and bound. In fact if we can't spend 1 hour with God on earth now how do we expect to spend an eternity with Him in heaven. Being prayerful is important for believers for many reasons and it takes for us to be intentional and wise with our time so that prayer can become our lifestyle. One big mistake we make is that we'd rather not pray at all when we know we only have ten or twenty minutes instead of a full hour although every moment with God is worth it.

A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
Psalms 84:10 NLT


I want to encourage you and myself to pray even when it doesn't look like the perfect quiet time that includes worship, Bible study, meditation and prayer, rather than not praying at all. I'm sure we've all heard of Wigglesworth's notorious quote before:

"I don’t often spend more than half an hour in prayer at one time, but I never go more than half an hour without praying."

Prayer is a lifestyle. It's simply having a conversation with God. Much like when you're in a love relationship or a intimate friendship. You like to share everything with that person and know their heart and thoughts about it. So let's look at ways to frame your entire life around prayer to thrive in your prayer life this new year.

1. Pray first thing in the morning

I remember a time in my life when I didn't set an alarm. I told God every evening: "Just wake me up when you want to talk, Holy Spirit" and I've never overslept one day of my life. Before I set my foot on the ground each day I would kneel before my bed on my favorite prayer pillow. I knew that a woman who kneels before God can stand before anyone. It was just so natural for me to talk to God first thing in the morning, thanking Him for another day and committing the day into His hands. But after some time my phone, early gym runs ans day break talks with my spouse gradually took that space in the morning. I can only imagine how it must have grieved God to see me go about my day without regarding Him first. I knew I had to return to my first love and start my day with prayer. It takes spiritual discipline to rebuke sleep and tiredness and wake up earlier to spend time with God. Make it a priority to pray immediately when you wake up in the morning. I sometimes even forbid myself to go pee because I know that from there I'll be in the kitchen and prayer will be pushed further and further away into later in the day which is something I want to avoid.

2. Pray before leaving the house

This is something I learned from my husband. Whenever I already rushed to open the door he would stop me and start praying in tongues. And honestly it irritated me at the beginning of our relationship especially when I was in a hurry. Until that one day that I left my keys at home and locked myself out. You see where rush was taking me? I had to call the locksmith and it cost a fortune but for some reason I had deep peace in my spirit. Knowing that my going out out my coming in is blessed and ordered by God. The prayers of my then fiance reminded me that there are no accidents and coincidences in my pathway as he always declared as I left the house. There are so many seen and unseen attacks that we face everyday. Soaking yourself in the blood of Jesus and praying a prayer of protection before leaving the house changes everything.

“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:6 NKJV

3. Pray before you eat

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV

The food on your table is not a matter of course but it's the blessings of God. Among sleep and many other things, food is one of the most common things that transmit evil spirits when we're not prayerful. You don't have to watch a lot of Nollywood movies to know that poisoning someone works best by mixing it into the food. The sad thing is that this doesn't just happen in movies and the reality is that this isn't something they only do in Africa.
Ensure your spiritual well-being by praying before you eat. This is how Mark 16:18 will work for you: and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. Shoving food in your mouth at any time can become dangerous if you do not pray before you eat.

4. Pray and worship while doing chores

One of my hobbies is actually cleaning. I know that it's not a thing most people would consider a hobby but I find joy and peace in cleaning up. The Bible says cleanliness is next to godliness and I believe that to be true. My whole house knew that Saturdays was my cleaning day and I would blast out all my dance hall music, not forgetting Drake and some good afro beats. Obviously a lot has changed since my school days and I don't have free Saturdays anymore where I can just clean for 5 hours because a girls gotta work and especially my taste in music has changed. I don't listen to worldly music anymore since 2017 but strictly to Christian music only and it helps me a lot. My cleaning sessions have changed and are now moments I intentionally spend praying and worshiping instead of whining and twerking (lol). Hanging up the laundry, changing bed sheets or ironing are all very meditative things to do and are perfect opportunities to invite God into your home, your life and your family and serve them with gladness to the glory of God.

to be sensible, pure, makers of a home [where God is honored], good-natured,... so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Titus 2:5 AMP

5. Pray in the shower

Some of the best videos and Blog Posts that you've seen me upload have been given to me in the Shower. I got some deep revelations about things from God while in the shower that I had to jump out butt naked before just to write them down. We should never limit God and where He speaks. A friend of mine once said WC stands for worship center and it birthed a tradition of us praying together in the toilets at uni before lectures when I studied theology. If it helps you you can play worship music or sing yourself but just make that place an altar in that moment and open your heart to hear from God in the most unlikely places.

And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

Exodus 25:22 NKJV

6. Pray while driving or walking

My car is an altar. From the car ministry (if you haven't heard about it check out my Instagram) to rides to church and Bible study groups, the car is the perfect place to talk to God and spend time with Him. Just like Eden, the secret place is not a physical location, it's a place where you have communion with God. It's a place where you get heaven on earth because you connect your heart to God so much that it doesn't even matter where you are in that moment because your heart and soul are with Him. During the pandemic I had no other choice to get rid of those lockdown kilos but to go for walks since the gyms were closed and discovered a new way and possibility to pray while walking. The power and presence of God is revealed in nature. From the rushing of the wind through the trees reminding us of His breath that hovered over the earth in the very beginning to the chirping of the birds who He takes care of just like He does for us, meeting God in nature is a perfect way of encountering Him outside of our usual environment. Whether you walk, drive, run or ride bikes make sure to take God along every step of the way. He is glad to walk with you and speak to you throughout your busy day.


“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
Job 12:7‭-‬10 NKJV

7. Pray before you sleep

What's the best thing to do after a long, busy and hectic day? Binge watch your show on Netflix? Check social media and see what everyone has been up to today? Or quieting down with some prayer time? The right answer should be the prayer time but I know from experience that after binge watching a show, checking social media and replying to all messages I'm extremely tired and give God my half- awake-half-asleep prayer to feel like a good Christian. And that's an absolute no no! Starting your day with God is equally  important as ending it with Him. This is something I had to learn the hard way when God literally forced me to pray at 3am by exposing my spiritual eyes to angelic and demonic activities at night that left me no choice but to be serious about praying at night. Another thing that God does to me is keep me up at night and speak to me when He didn't get enough of my attention during the day which leaves me extremely tired the next day but also makes me be more alert to incline my ears to His voice throughout the day. You see, things happen while we sleep. We cannot be spiritual ignorant concerning things like sleep paralysis, demonic visitations and nightmares. They are not of God and the only way to ensure sound sleep is to commit our souls, Spirit and bodies to God while we rest. 


but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
Matthew 13:25 NKJV

People wake up with things that they didn't go to bed with and that can be positive or negative depending on what kind of Spirit takes charge over your life at night. Pray every day before bed and make it a priority.


These are just 7 ways, and I'm sure that there are many more, to incorporate prayer into your busy life. In 2022 don't let people waste your time. This season the enemy's strategy is to keep us busy bodies and especially too busy to pray. The Bible says the sons of Issachar had an advantage over their enemies because they understood times and seasons ( 1. Chronicles 12:32). We often find ourselves busy at all times and by the time we look back at the year we find ourselves accomplish nothing for God and for our spiritually life. If you're on the phone for two hours and the conversation isn't adding value to your life, find an excuse to hang up and pray. May the Spirit of Prayer locate us in this season and may the fire on our altars never burn out.