Yesterday, we talked about the parable of the wicked judge. Today, I’d like to take a look at why that parable was told. Christ provides the reason in the first verse of Luke 18: “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” We need to make sure that our physical bodies do not keep us from spiritual experiences.
As a new mother, I’ve struggled with this greatly over the last six weeks. My schedule has been somewhat disrupted, and I have let my prayers and scripture study slide. Things have been on the “when you think of it” schedule, and prayers are generally offered while laying in bed, half asleep and/or nursing. Scripture study has become more challenging because I prefer to spend a half an hour on it, and between the new baby and the three older children, I’m lucky to get a half hour to myself. About the only free time I get anymore is at night (once everyone is in bed), and I’ve used that time to relax, vegetate, or sneak a chapter or two in a book, rather than improving my spiritual walk.
A new baby isn’t the only time I’ve let things slide. When I was in college, I worked 60 hours a week, in addition to taking classes, and spent a great deal of time in a daze. There were times when I made serious prayer and scripture study a priority, and other times when, falling asleep, I told myself the Lord would understand.
Why not move my studying to morning? Part of it is because I’m a night owl; I think better in the evenings. And part of it is because I am not a morning person; it is very rare that I wake up before my kids.
As I considered this tonight, I initially thought that I was letting my physical body overwhelm me – in short, I was “fainting”. This isn’t completely true. The problem has more to do with priorities. By turning on the TV or reading a “fun” book, I am saying that I value relaxing more than I value my walk with the Lord. Ironically, when I do my scripture study and pray fervently (as opposed to mechanically), there is less stress in my life, and I do wind up relaxing more. But when I’m caught up in the moment, I have a hard time remembering that.
That really is the key. Like so many things, we have to make our commitments outside of “the moment” – when we aren’t tired or distracted. We have been told this about things like the Word of Wisdom and temple marriage, but it applies just as easily to prayer. We have to make a decision to keep our prayers heartfelt and sincere, and to constantly kneel before the Lord, not just when we are struggling. As we make these decisions in advance, and determine how to achieve them, we prepare ourselves so that we don’t have to decide when the decision comes.
It took effort tonight, but I resolved to turn off the TV and do my scripture study, and then actually kneel in prayer. I figure I can always go back to television or reading if I’m not relaxed when finished. When I don’t take advantage of opportunities to commune with my Heavenly Father, I am in essence stepping away from Him, and that is ground I will ultimately have to regain. Better to have not lost it in the first place.
Related Articles:
For more articles on this week’s Sunday School lesson, click on the Gospel Doctrine link at right
General Conference: “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer”
Gospel Doctrine: Divine Communication