(Said in a whiny voice)  “AAAAHHHH DO I HAVE TO?”

Man, I would love to have a dollar for every time I said those words to my mother.  (I would also like to have a dollar for every time she applied the “hand of knowledge to the seat of the problem” when I got too rebellious while using that).   As a parent I would love to have a dollar for every time I heard that from my two angels (who never used that so I would be broke).   Cough cough!  🙂

Make no mistake about it: prayer is often looked on in the same way.  From the put-the-hammer-down-lay-on-the-guilt-trip pastors to the apathetic church goer, prayer is a mystery.  For some it is a necessary evil.  For others it is their life-blood.  For some it is an add-on.  For others they wouldn’t even think of beginning their day without it.  The excuses/reasons for those views vary.  Some of it just plain comes down to “I don’t know how”, and don’t understand it.

Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.  Martin Luther

But I think one of the most common excuses reasons given is “I don’t have time.”   When growing up, it was ingrained in me to meet God in the morning.  I can remember mom getting up and we would meet in the living room for reading Our Daily Bread and prayer before I went off to school. Even then I was a morning person.  So, getting up early to have my Quiet Time (QT) is easy for me.  But nighttime?  Forget it!  A bed is made for sleeping, not reading (so my body tells me).   The mentality we have adopted is seen in this quote:

He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find him the rest of the day.”  John Bunyan

While I respect Bunyan (his Pilgrim’s Progress is a classic), I think he missed the boat here. It is in thinking that the morning is the only time to meet with God that people latch onto the whole I-am-too-busy-to-pray idea.   We miss that morning appointment and feel guilty. Then our day gets so busy that we don’t have time.  Evening comes and we zone out.  Next day: same song, second verse.

I want prayer to be exciting…for me…for others.  I don’t want it to feel like sludge in my life…or theirs…or yours.  Sunday is my attempt to talk about the simplicity of prayer.  I am stealing borrowing Bill Hybels’ book title, Too Busy Not To Pray, for my message.  I plan to share more on Monday’s blog about the “guts” of the message, but until then, do you have trouble not relegating prayer to a “have-to” state?  Do you find joy in it?