Recently I’ve been reflecting a bit on how I live my day-to-day life with God. I think we all know the theory that God is with us in all things, that he is present and interested, but how much does that affect the way we relate to him, and what we expect to see happen in the ordinary of our lives, outside of church meetings and bigger life events?
Over the last few years I have become better at involving God in the daily stuff of my life, whether that’s by learning to pray as I do the washing up or brush my teeth, or turning my heart towards him in worship whenever I see something I like or find joy in.
But recently I am learning that God not only wants to be acknowledged as present and interested in our lives, but actually wants to be intimately involved in them – in the big stuff yes, but also in the small. Richard Foster writes about “God as truly manifest and notoriously active in daily life”*. I love that phrase ‘notoriously active‘! It speaks to me of my Father being daily, hourly, constantly working and irrepressibly dynamic in every part of my life.
To give you an example, recently I have begun to ask God more intentionally into my trips to the supermarket. I invariably plan badly and end up there when it’s either really busy, or I’m tired or hungry, which don’t make for a pleasant experience! Last time I went I prayed as I went in, ‘Lord please make me efficient and decisive’ (I can spend ages dithering about the cost of one product vs. another.) As I went round I managed not to miss anything and have to go back for it, was able to make quick decisions, and be out in record time!! To top it off, a few of the things already on the list were on offer so it was cheaper than it could have been as well. This is what I call a miracle!!!! And I’m not being overdramatic – I actually think that God wants to be involved like this more in my life. When my ordinary is infected with the power of God it is amazing to see what happens. So I’m beginning to pray more as I go that God would be actively working in the ordinary of my life – I want to see more miracles, more of the intervention of God in my life – in the big and the small.
Is God ‘notoriously active’ in your life? Do you give him space, or permission to be? What are your stories of ordinary miracles?
* Richard Foster, Streams of Living Water
