Light Lenten Reflections

Week 5

NEAT Prayer

In the expansive world of fitness and exercise, there was an acronym that made a buzz awhile back. NEAT (for “Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, if you must know) refers to the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or planned sports-like exercise. For example, twenty minutes rushing around Walmart trying to find where they keep the matches and birthday candles thirty minutes before a birthday party is NEAT activity. Twenty minutes jogging is not. One hour chasing after a toddler is NEAT activity. A one hour Jazzercise class is not. Six hours shopping for a homecoming dress with a very particular adolescent is NEAT activity. A six hour bicycle race is not. Yes, go for a run, take the class, enter a race, but look to increase the amount of NEAT movement in the course of one's daily routines rather than solely relying on set-aside times of focused exercise.

Some people are naturally better at getting NEAT activity than others. The Amish, who probably are unaware of the acronym, are the reigning champions of the NEAT world. As they go about their daily work and lifestyle routines, Amish men walk, on average, 18,000 steps per day, and Amish women, 14,000 daily steps, all without the benefit of exercise classes or sports teams. These are pretty impressive numbers for those of us in a Fitbit-obsessed culture, where 5,000 steps a day is the minimum number for fitness pretense and 10,000 steps the desired daily goal.

In Week 2 of Light Lenten Reflections, when I talked about Nike prayer, the “just do it” kind, I made it sound like we needed to find a specific time and space for talking to God, not unlike the physical exercise sessions we may carve out of our day. And we do need that specific time and place, to sit down and let the rest of the world go on without us, and just spend some one-on-One time talking with the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. But there is something to be said for NEAT prayer - “Now/Everywhere-Everything/Always/Talking”* Prayer. This is the prayer, the talking to God, that is ongoing during the course of our day. Ongoing, that is, if we recognize the need as it appears and take the time to bring it before God. Such prayer happens in the moment, in the “Now”, acknowledging that God is concerned about our “Everythings” and “Everywheres” (“Always!”) and we do it in our natural way of “Talking” to Him. The prayer itself can often be brief and comes from an emotional place of the moment. “Help, Lord,” when overwhelmed with a task at work or when in the middle of a strained conversation going downhill rapidly. “Thanks, Lord,” for that perfect parking spot that miraculously appeared when running late for an appointment. “Wow, Lord,” **upon seeing a beautiful sunset or hearing a warbler sing. Seeing a person in physical or emotional need can trigger an immediate intercessory moment, as can a highway accident or a television news story. Each of our days are filled with opportunities to encourage talking time with God apart from whatever sit-down time we make make for Him.

NEAT prayer, however, like NEAT exercise, can take some work and an adjustment of mindset, and there are those of us who are better at it than others. I confess that my reaction to prayer opportunities that arise in the course of the day is often “I'll pray about that, really talk to God about it thoroughly, when I sit down for my next quiet time.” And I may do that, but I would have missed interacting with God about that situation in the moment. The character of Father Tim in Jan Karon's Mitford stories models this type of ongoing prayer in the moment as he encounters people and situations in his community that need God's presence and intervention. He's a fictional character so it's easy for him, but Brother Lawrence was a real person and, similar to the Amish and their impressive step counts, is probably the reigning champion of NEAT prayer. A lay brother in a French Carmelite order during the 1600s, Brother Lawrence was recognized by his peers and superiors within the monastery as a person who exhibited the character of someone consistently walking with God. His abbott encouraged him to share the nature of his daily ongoing dialogue with God, and the resulting collection of writings, Practicing the Presence of God, is a spiritual classic. A more modern champion of NEAT prayer is Frank Laubach, a twentieth century American missionary who challenged others to attempt to “pray constantly” as encouraged in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. In his pamphlet “The Game with Minutes” he describes how he tried to keep God in mind in some way for at least one second of every minute of the day. Like Brother Lawrence, Laubach expressed the delight of a life spent consistently walking and talking with God throughout the day.

Trying to imitate Brother Lawrence or Frank Laubach can seem intimidating, and we may be a long way from talking to God in every minute of our day. Attempts at such prayerful intimacy is not for the faint-hearted, but it's an idea(l?) worth contemplating. If I sincerely believe that (wo)man was originally created to walk with God in a Garden, I must believe that God is particularly delighted with us when we talk with Him throughout our day, acknowledging His active presence in our daily walk whether asking for His intervention or just praising Him as we interact with His world around us. I think that's neat and I suspect God does too.

Something to think about: Examine your daily talking to God pattern. How much ongoing NEAT prayer is in your day? Do you save all your serious prayer for your quiet time? How often do you converse with God in the moment?

Something to talk (to God) about: Make a concerted effort to have more NEAT prayer in your day. Ask God to make you more aware of Him in the potential moments for praise and intercession. Going for a walk? Find three things in God's creation to thank and praise Him for. Watching the news? Ask God which situation you can bring to Him in prayer in that moment. Stop in the midst of a task just to say “Hey, Lord”.

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it. ― Brother Lawrence

*Yeah, I had to work a bit to come up with that one.

**Credit to Anne Lamott whose book on three essential prayers is entitled Help, Thanks, Wow.