I love kitchen gadgets and appliances. Many years ago, I was with my husband in the hospital as he was recovering from gall bladder surgery. Being bored out of my mind, I watched an infomercial on a revolutionary pan that would make my life so much easier. By the time the infomercial was done, I think I could have sold the pan on TV. I was thoroughly convinced and definitely hooked on the amazing new product. Yes, I whipped out my credit card and bought not one, but two pans. Why? Because I love a good deal and couldn’t miss out on the “if you act now we will throw in…” promise.

Did it make my life easier? Yes, it did. It was one of those products that actually did work for me. However, I imagined my life more stress free as the infomercial suggested. I imagined meal time with no pressure on my end and time to pray more.

Prayer is so vital to a believer’s life, yet it is so difficult for many believers to do. I agree with Oswald Chambers when he said, “no man who is busy has time to pray.” That is the most honest statement I have heard about prayer in a long time. Of course, I have to also consider that he wrote that during a time of no infomercials for kitchen gadgets, television, or social media. (Sounds like they were really busy back then too!) Then I have to consider that they didn’t have the modern conveniences like we do. Which makes me wonder…if we have all kinds of gadgets to make our life easier, why in the world are we so amazingly busy? The truth is that we will fill our time with things that are important, or important to us.

So all this pondering makes me self-examine. Is prayer important to me? Do I nourish the Spirit of God in me by making prayer a priority? Do I only pray when I’m in crisis? Am I praying for the right things or for things so that I can “consume it upon my lusts?” Am I too busy to pray?

These are vital thoughts for me as I consider this next year. Yes, goals are great and needed. But what about our own spiritual life? James 4:8 tells us to:

“Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”

That should give us a huge clue of how God rewards our prayer life. God wants us to pray because that is one of the many ways He makes His presence real to us. How awesome it is to look back and see answered prayers! Just another reminder of how much God loves us.

One of my goals is to keep drawing nigh to God and make the time to pray. My life won’t get less busy. Meal times will still have pressure. But there will be a peace that can only come through time with God…. And my mom got me a new kitchen appliance to help me do just that.