Empowered for the Everyday

<p><em>Every Moment Holy</em> is a beautiful book of prayers for a variety of activities, including ordinary ones like preparing a meal or doing the laundry. Necessary tasks that can feel repetitive or mundane. The book reminded me of the words of author G. K. Chesterton, who wrote, &ldquo;You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.&rdquo;</p> <p>Such encouragement reorients my perspective on the activities of my day. Sometimes I&rsquo;m inclined to divide my activities into ones that appear to have spiritual value, like reading devotions before a meal, and other activities I think have little spiritual value, such as doing the dishes after the meal. Paul erased that divide in a letter to the people of Colosse who had chosen to live for Jesus. He encouraged them with these words: &ldquo;whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus&rdquo; (3:17). Doing things in Jesus&rsquo; name means both honoring Jesus as we do them and having the assurance that His Spirit helps strengthen us to accomplish them.</p> <p>&ldquo;Whatever you do.&rdquo; All the ordinary activities of our lives, every moment, can be empowered by God&rsquo;s Spirit and done in a way that honors Jesus. </p>