Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Praying on the run

By Pastor William Jenkins

June 29, 2006

Two girls had been taught that they could ask God for anything they needed. One morning while walking leisurely to school, they saw the clock on the Court House tower and realized they were going to be late for classes.

Knowing how angry their teacher became with tardy students, one girl suggested they kneel down and ask God to help them get to school on time. “No,” said the other girl, “let’s run as fast as we can and pray while we run. Praying on the run.

I recently heard an American tell of a harrowing experience while driving through the countryside of Iraq. His Muslim driver became frightened when some insurgents approached their vehicle. The driver said to the American, “We must pray for Allah to protect us.” The American, being a practical sort of fellow, replied, “Okay, but you drive fast and I will do the praying!” That’s praying on the run.

When we do not have time to sort things out in an orderly fashion, we send up a prayer while acting on the issue at hand. That is how Nehemiah prayed when the king of Persia asked him what he wanted. A reply was to be immediate; no time to think about it; get your request right the first time. Nehemiah said, “Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king…” (2:4) That’s praying on the run.

All of our prayers should not be “on-the-run” prayers. We need times of quiet reflection and solitude where we stop and connect to God in an intimate way.

There are times in every day when a sudden on-the-run prayer is appropriate.
I have learned that “on-the-run” prayers are most effective when preceded by “stop-and–be-still” prayers.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org