In a physical workout or a spiritual workout I am all about focus. If you want to get the most out of a strength workout you set aside one day to focus on your lower body and one day to focus on your upper body. In the Spiritual Enrichment Workout the strength portion is my time of focused prayer.
Despite our best intentions and our desire to cover all of our prayer bases, we need to have a clear intention or focus when we sit down to pray. If we don’t then we will start with world peace and never get to the simple practical prayers that are more pressing in our lives. So, what I do is pay close attention to what the previous two sections of the workout have brought me. Remember the Warm-Up helped me begin focusing on the nature of God through readings from the Psalms and the Core Workout involved listening to what God may be saying to me through scripture. I find that if I am paying attention, there is a theme or emphasis that the Holy Spirit is guiding me to through the fixed-hour prayer and the Bible reading. That theme is the focus and basis for my prayer time.
Maybe there is a sin that has been brought to my attention to confess, a concern of a friend who has fallen away from God, or a fruit of the Spirit that has been non-existent in my life. Whatever it is, listen closely and talk to God about it. Save your prayer requests list for driving in your car or lunch break or shower and use this time to focus on where God has led you during your Spiritual Enrichment Workout. Trust me, your prayer time will be much more meaningful and you will be more aware of what God is doing in your life.
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