FROM THE PULPIT: DAILY PRAYER SHOULD BE HIGH PRIORITY

I used to belong to a group of Christians that believed in early morning prayer and personal devotions. They felt the only way to start your day was to get up at 5 a.m. and read the Bible and pray. They called it our "quiet time."

Unfortunately, their views were somewhat narrow. The only time to pray was first thing in the morning. The "holy hour" of 5 a.m. became an issue of guilt-inducing legalism for those who were not early birds.

It wasn't permissible to simply get up, get your day going and then pray at noon. It had to be done early, and they cited the Bible verse from Mark 1:35, where Jesus arose very early in the morning, sought out a solitary place and prayed.

But this passage isn't about a legalistic perspective on when to pray. It's about setting boundaries and making priorities. In verse 37, Peter finds Jesus and says, "Everyone is looking for you." Jesus' ability to heal and cast out demons was attracting significant attention, and posed a distractive threat to Jesus' ministry.

Jesus responds, "Let us go on to the next towns so I can preach, for that is why I have come." For Jesus, there was nothing guilt-inducing about facing an early morning prayer time. He did it to keep his priorities straight. With priorities in their proper place, he could set boundaries.

Setting boundaries help us keep our focus on what's important. He sought to follow God's will rather than become subject to the fickle desires of the people. God's will was his first priority and Jesus sought to keep the first things first. His ministry wasn't to be a "people pleaser."

Most of us have those days when the tyranny of every little urgency requires our immediate attention. We spend all day putting out brush fires and never feel like were accomplishing anything significant. We feel like we've compromised our boundaries and allowed the interruptions to dictate our schedule.

Somewhere along the line we need that quiet time to set our priorities and remember to keep the first things first. That quiet time comes through prayer.

I'm not necessarily advocating a 5 a.m. prayer time, but I have learned through experience that if I don't start my day with prayer (sometimes dangerously procrastinating until 8 a.m. when I get the kids to school!), before I know it, the interruptions and immediate urgencies intrude upon my schedule and destroy my intentions. My focus becomes lost in the whirlwind of phone calls, interruptions, and other normally occurring events of the typical day.

I need to focus my day on God's will for me. I find my focus and connection to God's empowering Holy Spirit in prayer, and

I pray several times a day. In the midst of a hectic schedule, taking ten minutes alone with God regains my focus and increases my productivity.

Here's a favorite poem of mine that reminds me the need to pray. It is called, "The Difference."

I got up early one morning

and rushed right into the day.

I had so much to accomplish

that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me

and heavier came each task.

"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered.

He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty

but the day toiled on gray and bleak.

I wondered why God didn't show me.

He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presence.

I used all my keys at the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided,

"My servant, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning

and paused before entering the day.

I had so much to accomplish

that I had to take time to pray.