When life was going 150 miles per hour, I couldn't help but feel like I needed to put my prayer off until I had a quiet moment. A moment that I could really focus on it and say what I needed to say and get into the details and nuance of what I wanted. Lay it all out. And part of me knew this was flawed thinking, but the other part of me thought it was ok because, you know, my intention was to dedicate a task-free block of time to God and get deep. Operating like that meant it would be days before I prayed a sincere prayer. Sure, the "little" prayers and the thanksgiving got in there. But I was carrying everything else with me waiting for the right moment to hand it over to God. It was hardly a durable plan. The weight of this thing and that need and this job and chasing that goal wore me out. Whipped me. And I'd brought it on myself. I hadn't prioritized the day accordingly, even with good intentions. Even with a heart that could surrender deeply to prayer when I could make the desired time for it.
Jesus says that if we come to Him, He'll give us rest. There was no stipulation on how many times we could come and He cleared the path for us to come to Him ourselves with help from the Holy Spirit. We just had to get to Him. And I was takin' my lil' time to get there. Hence me being tired and heavy after a few days. My heart wanted more regular surrender.
I think that, by all means, we should set aside a special time to get in the deep nooks and crannies of our hearts with God, but it should be a priority and it should be anywhere that works for us individually. The right time is every time a situation is about to go left and when a situation is about to go right. It's at the red light. Or before you take that next scroll on Facebook. It should be your go-to line of defense and offense and should be employed all day. The right time is all the time. God deserves a five, ten minute slow down. And if this quarantine has taught us anything, it's that things can change in the twinkling of an eye, so it's best we get close to the source of strength so we're already ready..
Until the next post, remember--"God's power over my power."