Redeeming the (Driving) Time

by Suzanne McCarthy for TCC

Most of us who work spend a fair amount of time behind the wheel. Some of us drive further than others and many of us listen to the news or to music in the car. Let me tell you about a different way that G-d used to help me redeem the driving time.

I got a more-than-full-time job in January that year. The job was to be temporary, only for three months, but the hours were long. Since I was already getting up at 5:15 AM every day to read the Bible through that year, getting up another hour earlier to pray was out of the question. I had an elderly Mom in a nursing home, and a husband and a son in college living at home, so time after work was spent on family things.

On the way to work one day I was thinking about how to be more organized in my prayer time.

I wondered if I could write up a prayer list to use as I drove. I realized that a notebook would not work to use in the car. I also realized that 3x5 cards would not work either.

What I needed was 3x5 cards on a spiral wire so that I could flip the card over at red lights, quickly see the name on the next card, and pray for that person till I got to the next red light, but I didn't even know if something like this existed. I quickly prayed about this need as I pulled into the parking lot at work.

Just before noon, one of the managers asked me if I could go to the pharmacy and get supplies to replenish the first aid kit. On my way through the pharmacy I passed the stationery section and to my amazement right in front of me was a spiral-bound set of 3x5 cards! It was the only one like it on the shelf. Had there been two of them, I would have bought them both.

That afternoon on my break, I started my prayer list by putting the names of family, friends, ministries, church needs, pastors, etc., one-by-one on the top of each card.

As time went on, I wrote down specific prayer requests for the person or ministry on each card with the date, and when the prayer was answered, I wrote the answer with the date. This has served to be a faith-builder! Over the years I have filled two sets and I am now ready to start my third set of cards.

This method has been so wonderful. The cards do not fall apart nor do they become misplaced. They fit in my purse or a pocket. I prayed through about half of the list on my way to work and the other half of the list on my way home. Now my commute takes a different route with not so many stop signs or red lights, and the list is longer, so it takes me two days to pray through the names, but it is a far better system than hit-or-miss.

I would encourage you to make a daily time of prayer and try my method, or perhaps G-d will give you another method. The point is, do something consistent. You will be blessed spending that time with the Father, and G-d will answer your prayers exceedingly and abundantly more than you can imagine!