The line at the pharmacy window snaked around the corner. I groaned. I pulled out my smartphone, thinking I could check my emails, but there was no reception. I groaned again.
My wife and I needed some prescriptions filled before a trip, and we were already running late. (She was in the car, which was all packed.) I settled in for a long wait. Fortunately, I have a strategy for such times: I pray.
Many people think prayer is boring. I used to think so myself. But I’ve come to realize that prayer can actually be an antidote to boredom. In fact, prayer makes it possible for us to never be bored again. Try this three-pronged strategy:
Pray for those you love
The prescriptions were for my wife, who had recently suffered a severe injury. So I prayed for her—for healing, pain relief, comfort and more. Next I prayed for my children and their spouses, then for my five grandchildren. I continued, naming my siblings, siblings-in-law and their families before mentioning the needs I knew of for my church family and my friends. I prayed the blessing of Aaron for all: “Bless them and keep them; make your face shine on them and be gracious to them; turn your face toward them and give them peace” (based on Numbers 6:24–26 NIV).
Give thanks for the good things surrounding you
By that point, I’d made my way to the front of the line. The prescriptions weren’t ready. More waiting. I proceeded to the next step in my anti-boredom strategy: offering gratitude. I gave thanks for the medicines I was waiting for as well as for the array of remedies on the pharmacy shelves, many of which weren’t available to previous generations. I gave thanks for the skilled people serving customers like me and for the air conditioning. (I live in the desert, and it was August!) I thanked God for health insurance. For electricity. I even thanked him for the many medicines I saw that I didn’t need, doing my best to “[give] thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20 NIV).
Ask for everything you need
My wife and I had a long drive ahead, and we needed to keep an appointment at our destination. I wasn’t bored, but I wanted the wait to be over, so I prayed for that. I even looked at the pharmacists working to fill my wife’s prescriptions, asking God to hurry them along. I also prayed for safety on the road and a timely arrival, and for a few other things that came to mind. As often happens, I felt my peace and patience increasing as I followed the scriptural command: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7 NIV).
I soon heard a pharmacist call, “Hostetler.” I stepped to the register, paid for the prescriptions and headed to my car with a light heart. I might have suffered a little impatience, but I hadn’t been bored at all.
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