Making Prayer a Priority
Life is busy – family, church, employment, entertainment, social media, etc. We live in a fast-paced world that seems to be pulling people from every leaning side. In that pull, we sometimes become so busy with everyday things that prayer moves to the last activity on our list. Most of us have a list made in our heads of things that need to be accomplished before we put one foot out of bed. So, what do we do next? We push prayer to the background. Busyness should cause us to recognize our great need for God and to make that the priority in our day; it should cause us to recognize our lack, our insufficiency, and our great need for God to accomplish the activity and to make it through the day. I believe that we should seriously change our perspective on prayer. What if it wasn’t that we were too busy to pray…but that we were too busy NOT to pray? Every part of our lives should be centered and guided by our continuing communication with the Lord.
There is nothing routine about meeting and talking with the Lord. I am excited to know that each day I am meeting with the Creator who performs the sunrises and the sunsets and who takes the time to hear my heart no matter when I approach His throne. Prayer is the process by which God helps us rearrange our priorities. As I start my day with Him, I realize very early that He is my source of joy, strength, and hope. What is prayer? It is a relationship. It is not an activity. Prayer is two-way communication, but it is not communication between two equal parties. Like any other relationship, prayer takes time and effort. We need to daily come before the Lord with a clean slate to keep our relationship fresh and open. Our prayers should start with adoration, praising Him for who He is, and moving into repentance. As we come before His throne with clean hands and a pure heart, we realize what an awesome privilege it is to spend time with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! (Adapted from Discerning the Word of God by Priscilla Shirer)
I personally enjoy my time with the Lord early in the morning! I meet with Him before I meet with others and have done so for years. I need to be still and listen for His voice through the reading of His Word before I tackle anything in my day. I get to hear the birds sing before the world starts to be in motion. His Word brings peace to my heart before the challenges of the day come before me. As I have learned to spend time with the Lord through the years of my life, my relationship with Him has become sweeter. No one loves or understands us like our Savior.
He knows our hearts and has the ability to change our hearts. He died and arose and has gone to prepare a place for us where we will be with Him eternally. Who would not want to spend time with the one who loves us so much that it boggles our minds and yet captivates our hearts?
The time we spend with the Lord is never wasted time. I encourage you, with all of my heart, to make prayer a priority in your life. It will be one of the best decisions you have ever made!
Melody Knox serves as a women’s ministry director and WMU executive director.
Feature Photo: Abby Caldwell
This article first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 Issue of BaptistLIFE.