The importance of making time for prayer.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” 
Matthew 6:6 New Living Translation

If this house is someone’s prayer closet, they’ve been in there a long time, but that person wouldn’t be me. I’ve always struggled with prayer. The person who prays hoping that others will notice their spiritual maturity, and the person who prays privately in the closet, do not describe me. I struggle with prayer. It seems that I can always find something else to do and not pray.

St. Elmo, Colorado

I can ALWAYS discover a picture that I haven’t edited.

I can ALWAYS uncover a television program on Netflix that I’ve never watched.

I can ALWAYS spot that new ministry into which we ought to delve at Holy Cross.

There will always be something else that distracts me from Jesus’ call to pray – yes, the call to pray. Did you notice that Jesus didn’t say “if you pray,” but “when you pray.” Prayer ought to be a given exercise of our faith in the One who gave everything for us.

My problem is that I view prayer as a duty and not as a gift. You and I know those people for whom prayer is a gift. Praying is a joy for them. It is the most important part of the day for them. It sustains them.

My guess is that spending time praying wasn’t always easy for these people either. Maybe they still go through periods where praying is difficult. Yet, they made prayer a habit of their daily routine, and because of their habitual prayer not only do they find themselves behind closed doors like this one in St. Elmo, but their life becomes a prayer.

Maybe it’s time to think of prayer as a gift and make it a more consistent habit.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO