JUST DO IT!
How have you kept your prayer life going throughout lockdown?
Lockdown praying was hard at first as I was working harder and doing longer hours due to being a key worker with young people and families, but I have always given God the best of my time, which made all the difference to my day. I would pray to Him during my day when I was in my car and with very few other vehicles around could sing my prayers without scaring other motorists on the road! I have always believed that praying is my fuel during the day and my direct connection to God. No matter where I am, He’s always right next to me.
Also, praying every month with the men of Arise early on a Saturday morning through Zoom meetings has strengthened me and helped me to set godly standards as a dad and husband.
Ed Hughes
Age 48
University Student
and Youth Worker
Interesting Fact:
I once completed a 7-day military-style survival week on the remote island
sometimes used by ‘SAS Who Dares Wins’. I came 10th out of 20 and 6 dropped out so I was very proud of myself for being strong.
What have you learned from last time?
1. Patience
2. Listening for and trusting God’s direction
I’ve always been a fairly patient person and that’s been helped by my enjoyment of being outside, walking and appreciating the countryside...allowing a bigger perspective on life and all that’s going on. By combining being out in nature with praying, days have become much more stable, especially the more challenging ones. I made this a regular discipline during the first lockdown and have grown in it during this one.
My trust was tested when, during lockdown, God challenged me to change my career direction and work with my wife Vicky. This wasn’t something we had previously considered, but we wanted to be obedient and so we prayed about it and in November 2020, God allowed me to leave Sandwell Children’s Trust and join her. We believe that prayer is the foundation which directs our every decision.
What, if anything, will you do differently this time around with regards to your prayer habits and rhythms?
I want to give God the best of my time everyday and if He calls me/us to pray at anytime, ‘just do it’....no matter what time, day or night. Also, to write down things that God gives me during prayer. I once did this regularly, but haven’t done recently, and it’s important to be able to remember what God has said, both to remember and be encouraged by answered prayer and to pray further into the things He says.