Practices for the Road

None of these are formulas. They don’t earn anything, fix anything or prove anything. They are simply ways of making room to be with him. Pick one and try it for a week.

Here is every “For the road” practice in the almanac, gathered in one place.

From the five ways to walk

• Under God: Start your prayer with “Abba,” and spend two minutes not apologizing. Let yourself be welcomed.
• Over God: Name one outcome you’re white-knuckling. Open your hands, literally, and pray Psalm 131 over it.
• From God: Turn your wish list into a thank-you list, and add one last line: “And you.”
• For God: Take one hour this week with no prayer list, no strategy and no output. Just be with him.
• With God: Once today, wherever you are, say quietly, “You’re here,” and keep going together.

From the seasons

• Advent: Light a candle each evening this week and tell God one thing you’re still waiting for. Then sit quietly for a minute and let him wait with you.
• Christmas: Each night of the twelve days, light one candle and sit with God for five minutes. Say only, “You’re here.”
• Epiphany: Write your decision on a card. Each morning this week, hold it and pray, “I want you more than the answer.” Then take the next small step you can see.
• Lent: Begin your prayer each day of Lent with one word, “Abba.” Then spend two minutes with him not apologizing.
• Holy Week: On Good Friday, read Ps 22 aloud slowly. Pray the verses that feel true and simply sit with the ones that don’t yet.
• Easter: Take a walk this week and tell Jesus honestly what you had hoped for. Then walk the rest of the way in quiet, as if he were beside you. He is.
• Ascension: Before your next ministry task, stop for one minute. Say, “Jesus, you go first. I’ll come with you.” Then begin.
• Pentecost: Pick one task today you would normally power through. Before you start, breathe slowly and pray, “Holy Spirit, I can’t. You can. Let’s do this together.”
• Ordinary Time: Choose one chore you do every day, like washing dishes or the drive to work. Do it slowly this week and talk to God the whole time, as plainly as you’d talk to a friend beside you.
• All Saints: Light a candle for someone you’ve lost. Say their name out loud, thank God for one specific thing about them, and tell him you trust him with them.
• Christ the King: This week, pray by name for one leader you voted for and one you didn’t. Then have a kind conversation with someone who sees things differently.
• New Year: Instead of a list, choose one “with” phrase for the year and pray it daily. “With you in my work.” “With you at dinner.” “With you on the commute.” Write it where you’ll see it, and let Our Habits help you build around it.
• Graduation: Write your options down. Pray over each one with a single question: “Can I do this with you?” Notice which ones you can picture him in. Then take the next step, and trust him with the one after it. Decisions has more for the road.
• Back to School: Put a weekly “Mary hour” on the calendar. No prayer list, no strategy, no output. Go somewhere quiet and simply be with him, the way Jesus invited his tired disciples to come away and rest (Mark 6:31). Don’t report it to anyone.
• Thanksgiving: After everyone shares what they’re thankful for, add one more line, in your heart or out loud: “And thank you for being here with us.” Then sit down. Even the host. Especially the host. Gratitude has more.
• Summer: Pick one summer afternoon with nothing on the calendar. Find some actual grass. Lie down in it for twenty minutes with no phone, and pray Psalm 23 slowly. If you fall asleep, count it as prayer. More on Rest.
• Grief: Write your own lament in the shape of Psalm 13. Start with “How long?” and say all of it. Then ask, “Please answer me.” End, if you can, with “Yet I will trust,” even in a whisper. If you can’t get there yet, that’s okay. He’s with you there too.
• Your Dreams: Turn your wish list into a thank-you list. List the good things you already have. Then add one last line at the bottom: “And you.”
• When the Formula Stops Working: Name one outcome you’re white-knuckling. Write it down. Then open your hands, palms up, and pray Psalm 131 over it slowly. Do it again tomorrow. Open hands take practice.
• Tired of Church: Set an “Emmaus table.” Share one meal this month with one or two others and read a Gospel story together, maybe the walk to Emmaus. Bread, a story, and the Lord who walks with us. See also Church.

From the field guide: terrain

• Who We Are: Write “loved before I do anything” on a sticky note and put it where you start your work.
• Rest: Pick one hour this week to do nothing useful, and spend it noticing him.
• Our Bodies: Thank God for one part of your body that works today, and be gentle with one part that doesn’t.
• Prayer: Sit for five minutes today without asking for anything. Say, “I’m here,” and listen.
• Time: Leave five minutes empty today. No phone, no task. Just notice that he’s there.
• Creation: Step outside for five minutes today and look up. Thank him for one thing he made.
• Our Screens: Tonight, leave your phone outside the bedroom and give him the last thought of the day.
• Falling Short: Tell God one specific thing you’ve been avoiding, out loud, and then thank him for his forgiveness.
• Scripture: Read one short Gospel story today and ask, “Where are you in this, Jesus?”
• Learning: Learn one new thing today, and talk to him about it as you go.
• Our Habits: Tell one trusted person the truth about one habit this week, and let them pray for you.
• Work: Before you start work tomorrow, invite Jesus into the first task on your list.
• Money: Pray over your accounts this week instead of avoiding them or obsessing over them.
• Decisions: Bring one decision to God today and tell him, “Whatever I choose, I want you with me.”
• Justice: Ask God to show you one overlooked person near you, and do one kind, concrete thing for them.
• Making Things: Make one small thing today, a meal or a sketch or a fixed hinge, and invite him into it.
• Suffering: Tell God exactly how this feels today, without tidying it up.
• Tomorrow: When a what-if shows up today, say, “You’ll be there too, Lord,” and come back to the moment you’re in.
• Marriage: Pray one short prayer for your spouse today, or for a couple you love.
• Our Kids: Tell your kids one thing you’re thankful to God for today, right in the middle of an ordinary moment.
• Church: Learn one new name at church this week, and pray for that person by name.
• Ministry: Before your next act of service, take one quiet minute with him and ask to do it together.
• Friends: Text one friend today just to say you thought of them. No agenda.
• Singleness: Plan one thing this week you’d enjoy doing with him, exactly as your life is now.
• Neighbors: Learn one neighbor’s name this week, or use the one you know and ask how they’re really doing.
• Death: Say the name of someone you miss out loud to God today, and thank him for one thing about them.
• Legacy: Tell someone younger one story of a time God was faithful to you.

From the field guide: weather

• Joy: The next time something good happens, tell God first, out loud, before you tell anyone else.
• Gratitude: Pick one good thing from today and thank God for what it tells you about him, not only for the thing itself.
• Disappointment: Say your “we had hoped” to God in a full sentence, and then take a walk and let him walk with you.
• Anger: Before you text, post, or speak, tell God exactly what you’re angry about, rough words and all.
• Loneliness: Tell God about your loneliness out loud, then send one message to someone you’d like to know better.
• Shame: Name the thing you’re ashamed of to God, then to one trusted person. Shame shrinks in the light.
• Doubt: Pray the honest prayer of a worried father today: “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
• Dry Seasons: Pray Ps 13 slowly today as your own words.
• Overwhelm: Write down everything on your mind, hand the list to God in prayer, and then ask one person for help with one thing.
• Heaviness: Do one kind thing for your body today: eat something, step outside, rest, or call your doctor or a counselor. If you are thinking about ending your life, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US) or tell someone near you today. You don’t have to carry this alone.
• Regret: Tell God the regret plainly, and if there’s someone to make it right with, take one step toward them this week. The confession guide may help.
• Restlessness: When the itch comes today, sit still for two minutes and pray Ps 131 before you reach for the next thing.
• Wonder: Go outside tonight and look up for five minutes, then tell God what you notice about him.
• Longing: Name what you’re longing for today, then pray Ps 63:1 and ask what the longing underneath it is.

From the field guide: crossings

• Success: Write down three people and one moment that helped you get here, thank God for each, and thank at least one of those people out loud.
• Failure: Tell one trusted person the plain truth about what fell apart, then share a real meal together.
• Waiting: Name what you’re waiting for in one sentence, then spend five quiet minutes with God that don’t mention it at all.
• Beginnings: On your first day somewhere new, pick one spot (a doorway, a parking space, a desk) and pray there, “You were here before me.”
• Endings: Mark the ending on purpose with a meal, a walk, or a letter that thanks God for what that season held.
• Getting Older: Today, or on your next birthday, write down one way God was with you this past year.
• A New Baby: During one late-night feeding or rocking, pray over this child by name, then simply enjoy being quiet together.
• Weddings: Whether it’s your wedding, your anniversary, or a friend’s, raise a glass and thank Jesus out loud for showing up.
• Broken Relationships: Let one safe person know how you’re really doing this week. If you are not safe at home, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
• Forgiveness: Write down honestly what was done to you, then pray it to God and ask him to help you hand the debt over to him.
• Caregiving: Ask one person to take one specific task off your list this week, and use that hour to rest.
• Elections: Before you vote, pray by name for leaders on every side, and for one neighbor who sees things differently than you do.
• Competition: On the ride home, say “I love watching you play” before anything about the score or the minutes.