Flying on a prayer run

When I was in the Army once a quarter the chaplain would host a prayer run. It started with a group prayer and continued with a nice and easy two mile run.

This past weekend I hosted my own prayer run. I ran a solo 10 miler praying the entire way. I did not pray for strength, endurance, peace, clarity, or any of that. I prayed for people.

I started with the letter A and prayed for everyone I could think of whose name began with that letter. Then I went to the letter B and continued until the letter Z. I got the idea from a Guideposts book my mom gave me many many years ago. It recommended that instead of counting sheep you pray the alphabet when you could not sleep. If you made it through the alphabet and were still awake you should do it again except try it backwards.

On my run I barely made it through the alphabet the first time so no need to try it backwards. There were times when I would get to the letter G and remember someone I should have prayed for whose name began with the letter C. So I would pray for the C and go back to the G. This happened many times. And of course I would get distracted and start to worry. But that only lasted for a few minutes and I would get back on track and start praying again.

So the next time you find yourself worrying, try praying the alphabet. You do not have to be running. You can do it in the car while in traffic, in the elevator, before a meeting, or anywhere. Prayer is portable and invisible. Where can you pray for others today?