Have you ever gone a whole day without praying? Just one day? Perhaps you didn’t feel too badly about it because it was only one day. Neal has been in Cameroon, Africa. This is Wednesday morning, and I haven’t heard from him since Monday. It has seemed like a lifetime. Neal is always careful to check in a couple of times a day to let me know he’s okay and share what he’s been doing. I’m not worried because the internet (or power, for that matter) isn’t very reliable in Africa, but it sure has given me a greater appreciation for the importance of communication, particularly when it comes to prayer.
Let’s say that Neal felt too busy to contact me. I would be angry with him for being thoughtless. Or let’s say that Neal was just distracted, so he didn’t even think about it. I would be hurt that I wasn’t a priority, that he didn’t care enough to remember that someone at home loves him, misses him, and waits to hear from him. I might even wonder if he still cares about me.
There have been days when my prayers never exceeded the bare minimum (expressing thanks before meals, for example). And there have been days when I’ve been so busy or distracted that I wasn’t sure if I’d prayed at all. God already knows what I’m doing and how I’m doing, so that’s not the point. Prayer is an opportunity for us to show God we love Him and to acknowledge His love and care for us. Prayer demonstrates the fact that God is a priority in our lives because no matter how busy we may be, we will always take the time to talk to the One who loves us most of all.
Prayer for Today: “The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me–a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8).
Life and Favor (Job 10:12) 