Day 263- Thankful for bathing and prayer

When I was a child, we had a bathtub with cold and hot running water, but no shower. My dad, who was raised in France and thought like people at least a generation older than himself, would take a bath every week so he’d be clean for church on Sunday morning. (If you think that’s funny, look up Louis XIV bathing habits. 😄)

My mom was much more hygiene conscious than Dad. But in order to save money on water (since money was very tight in our family), she would do what she called “sponge bathing” between her bath times. This only took maybe a sink full of water instead of a bathtub full. But she got clean a lot more often than if she had taken only a weekly bath.

In the church of which I’ve been a member for nearly 20 years I have occasionally heard someone use the terminology “we’ve bathed this decision in prayer,” or “let’s bathe this event in prayer.” (I don’t know where the term came from. We never used it in the church I attended as a child.)

Having a brain that is wired to be very technical in matters of the meanings of words, I automatically assumed that this phrase meant a lot of prayer, like a bathtub full, so to speak.

But I was recently at a gathering where a few people were asked to pray so that we could “bathe” this thing we had been discussing in prayer.

Imagine my surprise when we prayed a total of perhaps six minutes. 👀😂

I wonder, when decisions need to be made, do we truly “bathe” them in prayer or “sponge bathe” them in prayer (which is okay, if we do it often)? When problems arise, how much time do we spend bringing them before the Lord? When a friend or family member is hurting or ill, how often do we pray for them? When our world seems to be falling apart? Do we bathe those issues in prayer? Do we “sponge bathe” them daily, bringing prayers for people often before the Throne of Grace?

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Or do we just say we’ll pray about it, then we forget and never do? Or do we just assume that God doesn’t care, so why bother? Or do we get so angry with God that we refuse to pray? (Which just might make our souls and attitudes smell as bad as the French royalty did in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era. 😂)