Expectations for Prayer Time

Each morning at 7 a.m., I sit in the dry sauna at my gym after my workout and pray.

It might seem an unlikely place for prayer, but it has become one of my favorites. It is uncomfortably hot in there, 175 degrees, but I have gotten used to it, especially as I sit in the sauna five mornings a week. I begin to realize how truly comfortable the rest of my life is.

In that small room, I am not distracted by my phone. I can’t take it in there. It is too hot.

I simply sit in God’s presence, for, of course, God is there, as he is everywhere, and I trust that he will bring up what needs to be addressed. As I sit in adoration of the goodness of the Lord, songs surface in my thoughts: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, / his mercies never come to an end; / they are new every morning; / great is your faithfulness,” (Lamentations 3:22–23) or, “But you, O LORD, are a shield around me, / my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.” (Psalms 3:3)

I look over the day ahead of me and thank God for the opportunities I have to do good work and to be with people I love. As I look forward to the day, I learn to see abundance instead of stress and tension, as God gives me gratitude for this full life.

It is usually during this time that God will reveal some areas in which I need to grow. I recognize places in my life where often the same sins keep surfacing. I ask for God’s forgiveness, making a note for my next Reconciliation, and ask for mercy to keep from sin that day. I am reminded daily that I must surrender to God. I cannot live a holy life on my own. It is the Spirit within me. I ask him to provide for me in all the big ways I don’t even see and then the small, personal ones I do.

Each week I make a list of people who have asked me to pray for them. I include a few who haven’t but I want to pray for, like the young woman at the gym who is getting married soon. She and her fiancé are not believers. I pray as they seal this bond between them, they will understand how much God loves them. I remember how I understood God’s love for me so much more after I got married. I also pray for my friend who is struggling as she raises her two teen sons. May she have discernment to know what to do. I love how God brings people to my mind to pray for, people I may have not talked to for months or years. I make a mental note to check in with them later. Each one is touched that they came forth in prayer that morning.

I always come to this prayer time with auspicious expectations. I know God is going to show up. I just don’t know how. I am always surprised how he does.

And I know that I cannot go forward with my day without spending this time with him.