Your Phone And Your Prayer Life
The first thing you reach for.
On the small habits that shape whether you pray at all.
The big idea
Whatever you reach for first is what you have trained yourself to trust.
What does “Your Phone And Your Prayer Life” walk through?
In The Morning
Psalms 5:3 · KJV
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
In plain English
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Direction Before Distraction
David describes aiming his voice before the day aims him. Most of us reverse it — we take in fifty other voices before we say a word to God, then wonder why he feels distant.
Shut The Door
Matthew 6:6 · KJV
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
In plain English
When you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. He sees in secret and will reward you.
“A closed door is not about secrecy. It is about removing everything that would rather have your attention.”
Honest Prayer Counts
Mark 9:24 · KJV
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
In plain English
At once the boy's father cried out in tears: I believe — help me with my unbelief.
You Do Not Need Better Words
The father's prayer is a contradiction — I believe, help my unbelief — and Jesus answers it anyway. If you have been waiting until you can pray well, you can stop waiting.
Pray
Lord, before I check anything tomorrow, let me say one honest sentence to you. Amen.
Write it down
What is the first thing your hand reaches for when you wake?
One sentence first
Not a whole quiet time. One sentence, before the noise.
Which passages does this journey use?
3 passages, drawn from Psalms 5:3, Matthew 6:6, Mark 9:24. Every verse appears here in the King James text with a plain-English line beside it, so you can read it without a commentary open. Allow about 6 minutes for the whole thing, or 7 short sittings.
- Psalms 5:3
- Matthew 6:6
- Mark 9:24
Read any of these in full on the complete KJV, or look the wording up independently at Blue Letter Bible.
More in Your Phone and Your Soul
All Your Phone and Your Soul →The Attention Diet
What you feed your mind becomes your life.
What Scrolling Costs You
Counting the price of an ordinary hour.
Digital Sabbath
Practising a day that does not need you.
The First Five Minutes Awake
How a day gets its direction.
Curating What You Consume
You are allowed to close things.
Being Present With People
Half-attention is its own kind of absence.