On any given day, we all have a lot to do. You don’t need me to tell you that. In fact, people are more stressed out than ever before. Because of smartphones, we’re always connected to our email and notifications—a constant reminder that there’s still more to do. Have you ever wished there were some miracle prayer you could pray to help you get all. The. Things. Done?
Turns out, there is one. When I pray it, it’s like God bends time—multiplying it and helping me get exponentially more done in less time.
In the Bible, there are plenty of stories of multiplication. One of the most famous examples is the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000—multiplying just a few pieces of bread and fish to feed thousands of people. I’d call that an exponential increase!
Recently, I realized that the same God who can multiply fishes and loaves can do the same thing with our time. No, God isn’t adding a twenty-fifth hour to the day or an eighth day of the week, but He is able to multiply what we can do with the time we have.
That’s why I’ve started praying this super-simple miracle prayer when I’m overwhelmed with what I have to do:
“God, stretch my time.”
And you know what’s crazy? He does.
Now, let me be clear: God isn’t helping me get everything done. It’s not that my inbox is always empty, or every chore is magically finished. Rather, He gives me something even better: discernment. Discernment to know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. The more I pray that simple sentence, the more I end up saying “no” to things that don’t actually matter and “yes” to the things that really do.
Pray for discernment to know how you should be spending your time and strength to do the things required of you. The best thing you can do for your personal productivity is stop trying to do everything.
Do you know why God commanded us to take a weekly Sabbath and rest? He intentionally designed us as finite beings who need rest so we would rely on and trust Him. When I pray for God to stretch my time, I’m praying for Him to help me trust that He’s running the world—I don’t have to. When I trust Him, He always does exponentially more than I could ask or imagine.
