I hate traffic!
The other night as I was wedged in like a sardine on Interstate 94, I noticed the license plate in front of me was my brother-in-law’s initials, CPW. So, I thought, “I should say a little prayer for him,” and I did.
Then, suddenly I was checking everyone’s license plate to see who I could pray for next. Turns out, I prayed for my cousin Jenny too, JMS, and I think I even prayed for a lawyer… the license plate was ISUE4U. (He probably needed the prayers most!)
What I thought was a losing situation—a 45-minute commute to drive 12 miles— instantly became a win-win-win situation. I was distracted from the angst of the daily traffic rut, I was praying for others, and I was communing with my Creator during my commute.
My life is full of deadlines, meetings, driving, and dishes, and though I spend much of my time sharing the importance of praying with others, the truth is that often my prayer time gets interrupted or shortened. Yet, in some weird way, I recognized a new road to travel amid the rush hour congestion.
Not only did a nutty noticing of initials bring me into prayer, it made me think of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Instead of being discouraged when I’m stuck in a place I don’t want to be or when my prayer time gets cut, I found solace in having the opportunity to heed St. Paul’s words to the people of Ephesus: “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph 6:18). Yep, in the middle of Minneapolis in the year 2013, I took comfort in words to the Ephesians in the first century…and prayed in the Spirit at the one time I wanted to be complaining in the flesh.
St. Paul’s words to pray at all times in the Spirit come on the heels of him encouraging the Ephesians to remain strong in the battle and to put on the whole armor of God. He is telling them, and us, that we are in a spiritual battle, a battle that will require some serious armor.
We know that we have many ways to draw power from the Lord so we can stand firm in our faith on the battle field. We know that as Christians we have truth, righteousness, peace, and faith. We know as Catholics that we have the Mass, the Blessed Mother, the Communion of Saints, the sacraments, the Eucharist!
But in the middle of rush hour traffic, I realized we are blessed not only in being able to don this supernatural armor to protect and defend ourselves, but we also are equipped with armor that takes us on the offense: we have the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God (the Gospel)—and we have the power of prayer.
All of this armor gives us the tools to turn any obstacle, spiritual or physical, into an opportunity and eventually, a triumph. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is something that in my life has required a lot of instruction and practice. I look to the Magisterium, good Catholic scripture scholars, and solid Catholic bible studies as my “fencing” coaches and to Lectio Divina, praying the Rosary, and my daily Magnificat readings as my practice time.
The combination of good direction and spending time with the word of God has led me to want to proclaim the Gospel everywhere, and it appears it has led me to yearn to pray at “all times in the Spirit,” even in rush hour traffic.
Today, make an effort to turn obstacles into opportunities. Look for opportunities to pray for another, whether you see their picture, you think of them out of the blue or you notice their initials on the car ahead of you as you slowly make your way to your destination.
Look for ways to “pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication,” even if it means praying for the person who cuts you off in traffic or perhaps begging forgiveness for the words that have escaped you in the past in that same situation. And take comfort knowing you are donning the whole armor of God!
Copyright © 2013, Kelly Wahlquist
Kelly Wahlquist
Kelly Wahlquist's great passion is spreading the message of Jesus in the New Evangelization, so much so, she's been called joyfully labeled über-evangelist by friends. Assistant Director of Parish Evangelization for the Association of Marian Helpers, she manages the new and exciting Hearts Afire Parish-based Programs for the New Evangelization. Kelly is the Program Manger for the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she lives with her husband and three awesome kids. Kelly is a contributing writer for The Integrated Catholic Life, CatholicMom.com, The Divine Mercy, and The Crossroads Initiative.
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