This week, I attended a conference in Oklahoma and got to spend time with my bestie and amazing podcast co-host, Karen Salisbury. Days before I left, news of Hurricane Helene was broadcasted and visions of delays or worse began dancing in my head.

I don’t travel much but the past few trips have been in the midst of bad weather. And not just a little sprinkle, but hurricanes and tropical storms. Hmmm…am I destined to remain stateside? Of course not! Although I do think I might re-arrange my travel plans to avoid hurricane season!

Whether we like it or not, storms do come into our lives. We don’t like them. We try to avoid them, but sometimes there they are. So, what can we do? Well, we can do what every good boy or girl scout does: be prepared.

Of course, we want to ensure we have all the essentials on hand: milk, bread, eggs, Fritos. But here’s another option to add to our list: prayer. Yes, prayer.

Prayers for protection, prayers for wisdom, prayers for provision. As I mentioned in a previous post, God may not completely remove our storm, but He does promise to get us through it. When we trust Him, we can have faith that He will do what He says He will do and has done time and time again.

For example:

• If we are facing a financial storm, we can pray for God’s provisions. (Philippians 4:19)
• If we are experiencing an emotional storm, we can pray for God’s protection. (Psalm 46)
• If we are experiencing a physical storm, we can pray for God’s healing. (1 Peter 2:24)

No matter the storm, there’s a promise from God about it in the Bible. Guaranteed. Now here’s another radical idea. How about we pray BEFORE the storm comes? How about we build ourselves up in faith before the challenge lands at our front door? How would our lives change?

Here’s what I’m learning:

We have a tendency to make God and prayer our last resort. We treat Him as our personal crisis manager instead of our trusted Friend. We pray only when life’s “hurricanes” hit. As a parent, I look forward to talking to my kids every day. So does God! He’s our heavenly Father. He wants to hear from us.

Jesus died so that we could have the same relationship with God as He does. If we look to Him as our example, then we will quickly see that He talked to His Father all the time. We can do the same thing.

This week, I’d like to encourage you to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), that is talk to God all day long. Involve Him in your everyday life. Don’t save Him for the tough times. Talk to Him in good times and bad.

Then when the storms of life hit, you’ll have faith that God will get you through.