Too Busy to Pray?

Aunt Goldie is with the Lord now. I rode my bike past her house hundreds of times as a boy. In the summer she was almost always sitting on the front porch in the swing. Life was simple. There were few material possessions and yet she was a happy woman. One afternoon she said to me, “You know, Scott, sometimes I like to just get down on my knees and look at Him.” I thought maybe she was losing her mind! Now I understand that her mind was clearer than most. Life revolved around fellowship with Christ. She was living for another world.

The last few months have been some of the busiest of my life. At times like these some things must be eliminated. Now, you can’t get rid of the children. (Although the thought has crossed my mind.) Some things just won’t go away!

Sadly, some things far too easily slip away. They are gone without notice. Usually those are the things that matter most.

Time, irreplaceable moments, are quickly gone. Relationships can also disappear in the blur of life. More important than all of the rest, our fellowship with the Lord most often suffers.

How does it happen?

We know that there is no substitute for the Word of God and prayer. Quiet is not optional. Solitude is not a luxury. Time with the Father is a non negotiable. And yet how frequently it is forgotten in our agendas and schedules.

Into the throne room of God we may come,

Jesus has made the way!

But we are tired, distracted, and hurried,

Too busy to pray.

The Creator of Heaven and earth awaits,

He longs to hear our voice.

But we have so much to do today –

Too busy to pray.

Too busy to pray?

Too busy to think, to love, to praise.

Too busy for God?

Then, friend, we are just too busy.

These are the thoughts that came to me recently on my way to yet another early appointment. It is fine to be busy. But in all of our busyness we must never neglect the One in whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Heaven will be wonderful. There will be no “Martha spirit” there – no “cumbered about much serving,” no anxious living. There we will all be like Mary. We will all sit at His feet and just enjoy Him. We will get down on our knees and just look at Him. Maybe we should begin to do a little more of that now.