My wife and I have had a hectic couple weeks: retreats, birthday parties, more retreats, doctor appointments…the list goes on and on. Things have been an absolute blur. Luckily, we survived the worst of it. However, in the craziness of this month’s schedule, we have neglected some of our typical household chores. Let me take this opportunity to openly admit that I am not what some would call, “a tidy person”. I try. I really do try. Ironically, I enjoy when my desk, apartment, and life is clean and in order – I function better when things are organized. Yet, somehow, wherever I go I always manage to leave some mess, blotch, smudge or stain behind. Luckily, my wife is a whiz when it comes to cleaning – she is also a saint for being patient with me as I learn to tidy up after myself.
Typically, a muddled apartment wouldn’t be a major ordeal. We would clean the house little by little over a couple days because of our busy lifestyle. A little vacuuming, dusting, & washing here and there would take care of the job. However, my wife and I made plans a couple weeks ago to have some friends over for dinner tonight. My wife is at work. Today is my day off. The cleaning is up too me, and I have a time limit. A recipe for disaster!
As I look around my messy apartment in preparation for the overhaul, I can’t believe that I let things get so dirty and cluttered. Yes, I was busy, but was I this busy? This situation sadly reminds me of my spiritual life at times.
It is so easy to allow my prayer life to get neglected when things get frenzied. In the busyness of my day it always seems like my prayer time is put on the back burner. It is never my intention to put prayer low on my totem pole of things to accomplish, but I let other things take priority. For some reason in the moment it always seems like it is more urgent to reply to those emails or to run the errands that I have been putting off than it is to sit down and talk with my God for a bit.
The crazy thing is, when I don’t pray things start to really get messy in my life. The stress builds up. Frustrations get the better of me. My peace slowly turns into anxiety. And, I would guess the same is true for you.
I don’t know what your prayer life is like but if it is anything like my maltreated, ignored apartment, it’s time to tidy up. Prayer is an absolute necessity if we hope to live an authentic Christian life. It is what fuels us, revives us & sustains us. With daily prayer, God’s grace can carry us through the toughest situations; without it, life gets cluttered & chaotic.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne (Rev 3:20-1).
