3 Ways to Stay Alert on the Road

Eleven hours of driving recently provided time to consider the challenge of Ephesians 6:18 to pray at all times and to be alert at all times.

Eph. 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

The tendency to become hypnotized from highway driving required a challenge so I could remain alert while praying and meditating.

Three ways I fought fatigue and kept the focus were:

• Looking around me – I love to look use things I see as prayer starters because I don’t like to wait and it seems in life I am often waiting. At a stop sign – Lord is there anything I need to stop doing – that reflection goes quickly! Or – caution – Should I use caution in what I want to say to someone – or in my desire to fix my or someone else’s problem.

• Mentally unpacking my bags! First – asking myself what is in my purse – 

1. Hairbrush – Lord help me to face that snarl..to address it gently and with compassion to not hurt while helping…
2. File – to smooth out this relationship…or that issue. That God would remove barriers
3. Lip gloss, lipstick – asking God to put a guard on my lips that all I say would bring glory to Him.
4. Camera – that my focus would not be on myself, but on others, that I would look for things of beauty
5. Pen – that I would first look to the words God has written, then to words of experienced believers (speakers at the conference), and requesting God to show favor toward the words I had written

You get the picture. I over-pack when heading anywhere in the Midwest because we never know what the weather will be. It makes for miles of great mental “unpacking!”

• Meditating on a scripture verse

Picking apart Ephesians 6:18 word by word, I was reminded to be praying at all times – and with all perseverance. For me to do that would be to make a practice of being on the watch. Often I only get on the watch when hurting, things are going bad, or there is (obvious) distress or concern. That, for me, is when the enemy can creep in..and I find myself distressed and wondering what happened, things were going so well! Reflecting on this reveals how distress goes back to the earlier passage on making no provision (not getting slack) for defeat.

I love the analogy to stay awake at all times because that is how I read – and often feel about life in general –

I don’t want to miss anything – especially any of Gods glory. (result last vacation – 4,000 pictures!) 

I had to question – Am I that diligent about not falling asleep spiritually because things are going well? This scripture also urged that it would be natural to do just that, but I must not – I must be awake and alert at all times – not letting down my guard to pray for the strength to escape whatever things that are going to take place, because good things can distract me too.

In your spiritual battle do you “keep alert with all perseverance?” If not, do you see the need to do these things and will you ask the Lord to help you change?

We all have long ‘drives’ ahead of us. Going somewhere.  Coming home.  I pray we will not be distracted, or lose focus and fall asleep. Being on the road is a great time to “unpack” the prayers, and travel light!

Safe travels.