20 Seconds of Covid-Learned Spiritual Hygiene

​The pandemic taught us all a new rule: wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. While most people were just tapping their feet and staring at the clock, I saw a real opportunity. I did not want to waste that time. I decided that this was time best utilized in some helpful way and not wasted. I decided to turn those 20 seconds into a “spiritual hygiene” habit by praying the Lord’s Prayer over the sink.

​It has been a life-changing practice. What started as a health requirement became a mini-devotional that provides a real source of spiritual vitality and strength. Even now, I still do it. It is a way to maximize your time and plant a spiritual seed in the middle of a mundane chore.

​When I look at the prayer Jesus taught His disciples through the lens of those 20 seconds, here is the deeper, practical understanding that flows through my heart:

​1. Recognizing the Source

​“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”

It is vital for any healthy minded person to realize there are higher, truer, and more trustworthy resources than ourselves. As the saying goes, “I know there is a God, and I’m not Him.” We address Him as Father, but we do so with “hallowed” breath. This means with adulation and breathtaking amazement. We worship Him not just because He is all-powerful, but because He is an all Holy Being.

​2. Aligning Our Will

​“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Prayer is how we escape our own selfish will and seek God’s purposes. It is a walk and oath of self-denial. We are asking for God’s heavenly domain to show up in our practical, here-and-now lives. It is about wanting what God wants, even when it means our personal will must NOT be done!

​3. Daily Dependence

​“Give us this day our daily bread.”

An attitude of gratitude changes everything! When we see every good gift as coming from the Lord above, we recognize that our very survival is literally the gift of God. He is our primary source for life itself.

​4. The Heart of the Matter: Forgiveness

​“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

We are flawed creatures with a wrongly bent nature. Nobody has to teach a child to throw a tantrum. We have and often act on our own ill intentions and selfish purposes. We need God’s help to become more like Jesus and less like self. But here is the hook: if we cannot forgive others, there is not a genuine heart inside us to receive forgiveness from God. Learning and walking in forgiveness is the heart and soul of the Gospel.

​5. Protection in Our Weakness

​“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

The Lord knows our mortal frame and our weakness. Often, like Peter, we do not recognize our own unfaithfulness until it is too late. We humbly ask God to please graciously deliver us from pressures and temptations that we cannot handle. Evil is a real, hell-bent volition in this world, and we need the power of Christ to preserve and keep us.

​6. The Final Victory

​“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

We live in a day where self adulation seems to be the principal form of worship. People love to make heroes of themselves and celebrate their own pompous achievements. But as believers, we know where the real eternal authority comes from. God is the Alpha and the Omega. It is a great comfort to know that even when things seem discordant, God is still on the throne and will triumph in truth.

No pandemic can remove the wonderful presence of our precious and holy Heavenly Father! Even in these short 20 second segments at the sink, you can remind yourself of the Eternal Good Hope and promise that can never be taken away! To God be the glory forever and ever!