Most summers, I dust off my copy of a prayer book that provides morning, midday, evening, and night prayers and do my best to pray at the proper time (6-9, 11-2, 5-8, and bedtime) as I try to show myself grace for the times I am busy or just simply forget.
This summer, while I haven't brought out my summer prayer book, I have been structuring my day around bells as I volunteer on a farm at a Catholic college. As the bells toll, I use them as a reminder to drink water, but I hope to also cultivate the practice of praying when the bells chime.
I work at a school during the school year and I hear a lot of bells. Each class is dismissed and started by a bell, with a 1-minute warning bell thrown in for good measure, so over the course of my day, I hear over 30 bells. What if I used these bells as a prompt to pray? Not long, elaborate, showy prayers, but simple, silent, one-sentence prayers.
-God, I ask for wisdom for my job.
-Lord, show these children Your love.
-Jesus, may I show Your peace to those I interact with today.
-Spirit, give me Your words to say when someone is suffering.
30+ opportunities to pray.
30+ reminders to intercede for those in my line of sight.
30+ moments to refocus on God.
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