I preached a sermon this past weekend on prayer. I shared this quote from monk David Steindl-Rast:

“Prayer is waking up to the presence of God no matter where I am or what I am doing.”

Isn't that lovely? So simple. All pressure removed to have some kind of formalized ritual or program. It brings prayer right down into the granular moments of our ordinary days.

Here's our problem: We spend almost half our waking hours "asleep"; in a sort of trance state. Our attention to the moment - not to mention the presence of God - is absent. It is elsewhere, mainly reliving the past or ruminating about the unknowable future.

47% of our life is spent spiritually asleep.

The questions that linger for me after preaching are:

• What would it look like for me to wake up to each moment of my life as it unfolds?

• How might I inhabit this moment more fully?

• If prayer is simply waking up to the presence of God no matter what we are doing, what is my plan to stay awake? I must have a plan because everything around me and within me conspires to keep me asleep.

Today, will you join me in noticing (without judgment) how much of your time is spent reliving the past? Will you pay attention (without judgment) to how often your mind wanders to thoughts of the future?

And will you try practicing - even just once - being fully present wherever it is you find yourself?

See if this helps: Pick a moment in your day and pause. Feel your feet on the ground. Sense your body sitting, or standing, or walking. Take a deep, easy breath. Now take another one. And one more. Look around slowly and easily. What do you see? What do you hear? What can you feel? What do you smell? No need to make judgments about what is good or bad; just notice. And don't put any pressure on yourself to feel any certain way about any of this. Just try it. And when a few moments of paying attention have passed, smile. And carry on.

This, too, is prayer. Anyone can do it. Even those of us who have a dysfunctional relationship with prayer.

Wake up to your life because it is happening right now.

All we are ever given is a string of moments.

Let's not miss them.