Prayer is major (1)

Someone asked Pastor Tim Keller, 'What's one piece of advice you would tell your younger self, or something you wished you knew then that you know now about the Lord?' Tim tweeted back: 'I would tell him that prayer is way more important than he thinks.'

Yes, it can be tough to find time to talk to God, and we can stress ourselves by guiltily comparing our prayer habits to a praying friend. Stop that! Prayer is our personal business, and comparisons help no-one. But, prayer is major.

So, what do we do when it feels like we're just too busy, when we literally don't have a spare minute? In God's word it says, 'Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed' (Mark 1:35 NIV). Getting up early can be hard, we know! But Jesus did it. We may have to get up early to ensure we get that one-on-one time with God. But, if Jesus thought it was important to make time for it, we should too.



So what now? Inconvenience yourself. Set two alarms on your phone tomorrow: the first to wake you up for a pre-sunrise prayer time. Use the second alarm to remind you to go out of your way to give selflessly of your time and energy to anyone within range. It's much easier to inconvenience yourself for others when you've inconvenienced yourself for God first.





— SCRIPTURE —

'Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.' Luke 5:16 NIV
— SOULFOOD —

Eze 31-33, Matt 23:13-22, Ps 27 , Pro 20:5-6