Too Busy to Pray? (Prayer - Part II)

Stream at IU's Arboretum

Maybe you've heard that famous line of Martin Luther's about having so much to do that he couldn't get on without first spending three hours in prayer. "But he wasn't a mother with little ones to tend!" I've sometimes thought.

True. Martin Luther had an ultra-capable wife who not only took excellent care of their six children and four foster children, but who also managed their farm, operated a brewery, and sometimes ran a hospital! She worked hard so he was free to attend to spiritual matters. Yet the older I get, the more I understand the truth in his words. The greater our responsibilities, the greater the urgency to pray.

Feeling guilty about my lack of  prayer (or quality or consistency or whatever), though, never helped me all that much. Instead, what drove me to get serious about spending time with the Father both now and at previous times has been the recognition of my inability to do anything on my own.

Paul Miller in A Praying Life says, "If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life. You'll always be a little too tired, a little too busy."

Ouch!

Sometimes we think of prayer as a spiritual discipline. And that's correct in some sense. But truly it is our poverty, not our riches, our need to be with the Savior rather than go it on our own, that brings us to our knees.

Weariness should not keep us from Jesus, but draw us to Him. Remember that Jesus invited all who were weary and heavy-laden to come to Him, and He would give rest (Matt. 11:28). Mr. Miller says, "The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy."


Phew!

Prayer requires abiding in Christ, and nothing causes us to run to Him better than trials. Charles Spurgeon said: "Brother, if you are to have power in prayer you must take care that you abide in Christ when the sharp knife is cutting everything away. Endure trial and never dream of giving up your faith because of it. Say, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.'"


Moms, especially when there are many young children, are busy people. Sometimes we are overwhelmed. Weary. Heavy-laden. In every season of life, trials come, often at an increasing pace with years. Making time to come to Jesus daily is not only possible, it is vital. I'll try to give some practical tips for doing that in the next posts.