10 More Days of Praise: Day 7 - How Often Do I Praise Him?

While at an airport a few years ago, I watched a cab driver get out of his cab, open his trunk, take out a small rug, spread the rug on the sidewalk, kneel down, and start bowing. I don't know how long he prayed. I was sitting on a bench waiting for my ride, but it was more than a minute or two. I think I was the only one watching him. No one stopped, stared, or commented.

I considered his behavior odd, the way we consider Mormons at the front door odd. As I sat there I thought about how lax we are as Christians. If I remember correctly, at the time I even prayed for a moment, for God to help me be more in tune, to take more opportunity to talk with him.

That Muslim cab driver at the airport made an impact on me. Not to become a Muslim, but to become more of a Christian. I wanted to have the kind of faith that made me want to stop what I was doing and give God a moment of my time. Did I leave the airport changed? I don't know, but I do know that since then I desire more time with God.

Since the mid-90's I have always made it a point to pray in my car, every time I go somewhere. At that time, I was driving all over, making roughly a 30 mile round trip to the university for my own classes, sometimes twice a day, shopping, and getting kids to and from their school if necessary. At home, I was so frantic trying to get meals, do homework, help the kids with homework, and go to school myself that I had virtually no spare time. Prayer was a problem.

I began to take time when I was between classes at home, to pray but it felt like it wasn't enough. I realized I was spending more than an hour in my car on an average day. So, when I saw a classmate leaving the school singing like a madman in his truck, I came up with a plan. I laughed at him, but it occurred to me that if he could do that, why was I worried about anyone noticing me if I prayed in the car. So, I began to use my drive time to and from school to pray. As soon as I clicked my seatbelt I began to talk to God and for every trip there and back, I would pray aloud. Some days I would not even remember the drive home.

It became such an ingrained habit that one Saturday as my oldest son and I were going to the store, as soon as my seatbelt clicked, I started to pray. He said, "Mom, what are you doing?" I stopped and looked at him. I didn't know what to say. For a moment, I hadn't even realized he was there or what I was doing. I know now I should have explained, but I was so stunned by what had happened, I couldn't think of what to say. Later, I did tell them about my car prayers.

I had become so used to getting in the car and buckling my seatbelt and then starting to pray on my drive to school that one day it became a natural part of getting in the car. I don't travel as much since I graduated, but I still pray in the car at times when I'm alone. It is still a place I can be sure that nothing will interrupt me. I've sat in my car, in my garage and prayed. Just because it was a quiet, solitary place I knew nothing would interrupt me.

I suspect that the Muslim never noticed me watching him. His routine was so ingrained that nothing around him made one bit of difference to his behavior. He set about the business of prayer. Everything else just disappeared. I can relate.

What about us? How often do we take time to give our God praise? Are there minutes when we stare into space that we could use to just give him praise for his faithfulness? Do we have long commutes that we can use to spend time talking to God? And more importantly, are we making an impact on those who are watching us?

The man in the airport does his prayer routine five times a day and we make jokes about it. How many times do we give our God praise? How many times should we give praise to our God? Is he not worthy of as much? He's worth even more. David thought so. In Psalms he said, Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. Psalm 119:164

Seven times a day! We balk about church once a week. We complain we don't have time to stop for half an hour and talk to God. David was praising his God seven times a day. He was counting. And he was running a kingdom. You're running to the store, the gym, the club. You're running around chasing children. You're ... what are you doing that is so important that you can't stop and give God praise, even once a day?

I want to praise him with my whole heart. That is my goal. I started my 10 Days of Praise a month ago. It was a phrase that ran through my head in the middle of the night. So I did it. It wasn't enough. So, I started 10 More Days of Praise. It still isn't enough. Imagine every professing Christian praising God seven times a day. Imagine every Christian praising God even once a day!

The blog has helped me start a routine of praising God. I already had times when I just stopped and prayed. But face it, do your prayers focus on God or your needs? I don't want to just pray for needs. I want to spend time telling God how much he means to me. How long do you think a marriage will last if all you do is hand your spouse a list of items you think need to be taken care of? Sometimes, try praying without mentioning a single need. Tell God the only thing you want is to spend that time talking about his grace, his mercy, his faithfulness, his majesty. I think you'll be surprised at the outcome.

Lord, you are the air that I breathe. I praise you for the amazing works of your hands. You are the Great I Am, the Rose of Sharon, Lion of Judah. There is none like you and none as worthy of praise as you. I give you all the praise and honor for your sacrifice at Calvary on my behalf. I bless you with praise and desire to draw always closer to you.

How often do you give God praise?