Journal

Martin Luther once wrote, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

I have long been convicted over this quote for a variety of reasons. First, I am absolutely amazed at Luther’s discipline to pray for three hours. It is tough for many people to pray in a concentrated manner for just a minute. Second, Luther’s love for God is apparent. For him, to commune with God was the top priority of the day. All else was second. Third, I really like the calmness by which Luther approaches his day: one thing at a time with God at the center of it all. There is a calmness and flow that I think is so rare today.

But one dimension I think is worth exploring is Luther sees prayer as a means of being able to accomplish all he is going to do for the rest of the day. In other words, Luther realized his productivity and prayer life were intimately connected.

But how?

If you’re like me, I sometimes want to dive immediately into my workday. Prayer, while very important, feels almost like an impediment for getting things done. I mean, there are pressing deadlines and emails that need to get sent! There are people to be visited! I have to read my Bible and prepare the sermon!

(By the way, if you want a virtual assistant to handle those crazy tasks, click here to have a free, twenty-minute consultation with me and we can get you started).

I wonder, however, what our days would look like if we spent time quietly in prayer? While Productivity is not the chief goal of prayer, but a beautiful byproduct of communing with our God.

But, I believe that in order to receive that byproduct (or grace), there is a certain quality of mindset and prayer that must be achieved.

What Doesn’t Work

Hear me out: anytime spent in prayer is good. But I think to truly experience the peace of mind through prayer that leads to productivity and focus requires discipline. There are a few types of prayers that I find myself praying that actually don’t transform me or give me time to really experience the beauty and depth of prayer.

1) The Autopilot Prayer

I am a big fan of scripted prayers. In fact, I use The Valley of Vision in my prayer life frequently. I am not talking about those kinds of prayers. I am talking about the kind of prayers that you mumble before you eat (or as you already have Chick-Fil-A halfway in your mouth). Or maybe you say a quick prayer before you travel and it is the same prayer every time. The problem with this sort of prayer is it almost functions as a magic talisman rather than true communing with God. Prayer that is done on autopilot is seldom the kind of prayer that deeply engages the heart, soul or mind.

2) The Arrow Prayer

I use arrow prayers all the time–these are prayers I pray right before I am about to on stage, speak with a client, have to send a tough email, or am preparing to do a complicated task. These are quick prayers that typically go something like, “God, I am nervous about this task. Will you please help me?” These are necessary prayers and we see them used in Scripture (I am sure Daniel shot a few up to God right as he was going into the den of lions). However, the prayer is far too short to be the kind of prayer that sets the tone for your day.

These are not the types of prayer that lead to a productive day if this is ALL you do. They are quick bursts of gasoline on a fire–not a sustainable flow of fuel for the day.

3) The To-Do List Prayer

This is the type of prayer where you simply pull out your list of things to pray for and go down it until you are done. It isn’t bad to have a list (I do). But it is FAR too easy to just read off the list like you are telling your spouse what to get at the grocery store. In fact, this is a problem with prayer models that use acronyms like A.C.T.S or whatever. They quickly become just a thing to check-off before moving on to the next step.

What Does Work

I have found a few things help me pray longer and feel more refreshed after prayer. Keep in mind that these are not magic. These steps do not guarantee you’ll be more godly. God doesn’t love you more if you do these steps. However, I think there are some good principles here that will help you get more out of prayer.

Take Deep Breaths

First, when you sit down to pray, make sure you take a few deep breaths. This helps for a variety of reasons: it functions as a trigger to let your brain know that you are getting ready to spend time with God, it slows down your heart rate, and it primes you to focus.

Settle Into Your Surroundings

Second, when you close your eyes make sure to settle into your surroundings. This means before you start praying, take a minute or so to listen to the sounds around you and to sense how your body feels. This is helpful so that you aren’t distracted by other noises when they occur. You are familiar with what is around you and how your body feels currently. This will help you pray longer.

Don’t Get Discouraged

Third, when you get distracted in your prayer, don’t get discouraged. Rather, simply draw your attention gently back to prayer. When you realize you’ve gotten distracted you can simply label your thought by saying “Thinking” or if you have a strong emotion, “Feeling” and then moving back to prayer. This technique is used in traditional meditation practices but I have found it helpful in prayer because I get off-track so easily (thinking about the rest of my day, plans, fears, stresses…whatever).

Just Talk

Fourth, spending time quietly before saying anything and simply thanking God for meeting with you in prayer has been great. It helps me realize that God is really with me. My prayer is not a performance or a monologue. Sometimes I will sit quietly, just enjoying the reality that God is with me. Sometimes I will feel nothing, and that’s ok. I simply thank God that he is with me and has given me the chance to engage with him.

Put Away Your Phone

Fifth, turning off my phone and putting it far away from me is one of the best things you can do. The temptation to continually look at my phone while praying or even seeing a notification pop-up on my phone is an immense distraction. This goes the same for your computer as well if you are at your desk. Turn it off. Don’t let anything distract you.

Set a Timer

Sixth, it may be helpful for you to practice praying a set amount of time at first. If you are struggling to maintain focus, it will probably take some time to discipline your focus enough to pray for a sustained time. So try praying for five minutes straight at first. Then work up to ten, then 15 and then 20. From there, try longer sessions like 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

Create Boundaries

Seventh, make sure to let nothing disturb you during this time. Lock your door. Turn off your ringer. Tell your assistant to not schedule anything for this time. This is YOUR time with God. This is the time to get prepared to meet your God and enjoy him. Take that task seriously.

So How Does Prayer Help Productivity?

First, I think it helps put things in perspective. You aren’t endlessly having an inner dialogue about your problems or concerns. You are reminded that God is sovereign over the situation.

Second, it helps get the problems out of your head. For me this is a huge reason I like to pray–it helps cage my crazy thoughts and prayer helps me organize what I have facing me.

Third, it gives me peace. It reminds me I am not in control of the world. I have a part to play but at the end of the day, I am not God. Fourth, it gives me focus. I have trained my brain to be able to focus on the task of talking with God and when I am finished, my brain feels focused to tackle the next issue and the next. Prayer is great training for the brain.

Fifth, it makes me more aware of the present moment. In prayer, I am forced to be completely present with God. My task is not to let my brain wander off. So as a result, I become more present and aware of right now. I carry that mindset into the rest of my day. Sixth, it gives my day organization. I know that my task every day is to pray. My day is structured around prayer. When I finish praying, I feel accomplished–not only because I prayed but because I communed with the Father.

One Final Thing

It can still be tough to pray when you have a daunting to-do list ahead of you. I know. I’ve been there. When I was in ministry I felt on the verge of burnout because I let these tiny tasks eat at my time–including my time with God. I started Ministry Assistant Services for this reason: to help you reclaim your time for effective ministry (like praying!). My team of ministry assistants can help take those tasks that are eating up your time and can get them done while you are focusing on what the job God has called you to do.

You can click below to schedule a free, twenty-minute consultation with me. Of course, I want you to use our services. But more than that I want you to have a sustainable ministry and a deeper walk with God. I don’t want you to burnout. I want you to thrive.

So I would encourage you, even if you NEVER use our services, make sure you find someone to take those tasks off your plate. Don’t let your walk with God suffer.

I think it is fairly common knowledge that most pastors feel like they don’t have enough time in their day to accomplish everything they want to. The problem is that when we feel like we can’t get everything done we get stressed. And when we get stressed, we become even less productive (not to mention less happy).

Maybe you have looked at other leaders and thought, “How do they get so much more done in the time they have?” It is easy to become envious. Or perhaps you even begin to try to explain away why you aren’t as productive. “Well, their ministry is bigger and so they can afford to hire more staff and that takes the pressure off of them.” Possibly (and I have a solution for that–see #2).

But what if the issue is deeper? What if the battle for your schedule was already determined before you even went to bed the night before?

I think you can reclaim your schedule.

You can feel as if you are taking charge of your day rather than your day taking charge of you.

And it boils down to two simple things.

First, Pastors Should Get a Good Night’s Sleep

I get it. This isn’t rocket science. You already know that a lack of sleep means you feel groggy and will accomplish less the next day. But a lack of sleep is also connected to weight gain, increased stress levels and is directly related to a whole host of other physical ailments. I once heard D.A. Carson remark in a talk that sometimes the most Godly thing you can do is get sleep.

For me, I faced two issues when I was a youth pastor.

First, I felt like I needed to cram in more ministry at night. I tried to get that last minute sermon done or text a student or read the newest ministry book. So I would delay my bedtime til it was far too late.

Second, if I did manage to get into bed on time, I had trouble actually falling asleep. My mind would race through my day and I would second guess conversations I had or I would begin planning for the next day. I have learned that I have to adopt a routine in order to sleep soundly and to get ready for the next day.

Here are three things I don’t do:

Starting around 9 at night, I don’t turn on any electronic devices.

That means I don’t watch TV, get on my phone or computer.

Here’s why: the blue light emitted from these devices prevents you from producing melatonin which helps your body prepare to sleep. Also, if you are on these devices it means you are absorbing content.

Spoiler alert: you don’t want your brain to be taking in new information right before bed if your goal is to unwind.

I also don’t read any non-fiction before bed.

The reason is the same as above–if you are trying to fall asleep, you don’t want to be reading books that provoke you to analyze or project into the future. Your brain will begin making plans or trying to understand all the various nuances of what you’re reading. I will, however, occasionally read a work of fiction. For whatever reason, our brains don’t exert quite as much energy by reading literature.

I don’t use my daily planner to plan for the next day.

I try to get that done earlier in the evening. I have found that if I am trying to sleep, the last thing I need to do is start thinking about the tasks tomorrow. Tomorrow will come soon enough and will have enough worries of its own. Night is my time to kiss today goodbye.

Here is what I do:

I make myself some tea that will knock me out. I am not a tea drinker by nature. But I found this tea that straight knocks me out (thanks to Tim Ferriss who informed me of it). It is called Yogi Bedtime Herbal Caffeine-Free Soothing Caramel Tea. Not only is it the best tasting tea I’ve ever had (it is sweet enough that you don’t need sugar), but it will make you feel like you’ve gone a round with Mr. Dream from Punchout (remember the old NES game? No?).

I journal.

I try to recap all the important things that occurred and think through how I handled various situations. I then turn the entire day over to God and thank him for it. Many leaders have said that they like reflecting on their day using these questions (and Brendon Burchard recommends using these questions in his planner):

A moment that I really appreciated today was…

A situation or task I handled well today was…

Something I realized or learned today was…

I could have made today even better if I…

Something that could have helped me feel more connected to others today would have been…

If I was my own high performance coach, I would tell myself this statement about today…

I try to darken my room as much as possible.

No light. No nightlight. Total dark.

I try to make sure my room is clean before going to bed.

This way I have created a serene atmosphere that allows me to go right to sleep.

If I am still having trouble falling asleep after this, I try having white noise in the background or some other repetitive relaxing sound.

This admittedly may take some time for your brain to get used to, but it is helpful.

If you are STILL struggling, guided visualizations of beaches can be really helpful as well.

You can find a bunch on Youtube. They help you release some built up stress.

Of course, you can always pray.

I’ve written elsewhere that prayer is a great means of achieving productivity. It knocked out the disciples in Gethsemane and I say, to my shame, that it has put me to sleep numerous times in bed. I like to think it is a form of God’s grace and a blessing of relaxation that occurs as we turn things over to Him.

(As a side note, I think it is totally worth investing in a NICE mattress and pillow for yourself. Consider that you spend 1/3 of your life sleeping. It is worth every penny you spend to get a nice cooling pillow (if you’re a hot sleeper like me) and a mattress that is so soft you’d swear angels had exported it straight from Heaven. They were the best two investments I’ve ever made and every night when I lay down, I have no regrets.)

*Note: Some people swear by melatonin. I try to be fairly careful what I put in my body so I haven’t tried it myself. I have also heard it will totally knock you out and some have expressed that they wake up super groggy. That is a no go for me, chief.*

Second, Pastors can hire a virtual assistant to take care of all that nagging stuff that is sucking up time.

Of course, this is a virtual assistant website so I am going to tell you that. But seriously, that’s our job–to take care of those tasks that are driving you crazy and making you lose sleep.

Administrative tasks? Communication tasks? Social media tasks?

My team CAN do those tasks and we LIKE doing those tasks.

But here is the real kicker: we have priced ourselves so that YOU CAN AFFORD to hire us.

Even if you hired us for a couple hours a week, imagine how much we could take off your plate. You don’t have to have a big church to get big-time ministry help. So schedule a free consultation right now by clicking the button below.

A 20 minute phone consultation may meanana uninterrupted, restful sleep for you!