As I sit in my office wondering what I should write this week for our blog, I am drawn to all the things that are upcoming. A blog can often feel like another busy thing that must be done in a week full of tasks. I feel somewhat ashamed. My calling in the ministry is no mere task or checklist. Of course, there are things that must be accomplished, and I love clearing a checklist. However, the life of a believer is not just checklists of tasks, it is being engaged actively in a kingdom that is vibrant and on the move. I was struck by a quote from Martin Luther this morning. He said, “I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” I pray daily, but three hours — good grief! Martin Luther certainly felt the urgency of prayer. I mean he had big work before him, right? A whole reformation was ahead of him, riding on a razor’s edge. He needed to pray that much. Urgency may drive us to our knees, but what about the mundane weekly grind?
 
Prayer is not merely a necessity to pick up when hard times demand it. It is to be that daily exercise that happens throughout the day. It should be the engine that drives our tasks and desires hourly. This should be at the root of how we go about the mundane tasks of the week. Whether it be raising children, caring for the sick, setting our minds to our professions, or interactions with the world. Prayer is that moment when we rest from the worries and stresses of the world, to speak to our heavenly Father. It should not be a casual crossing with a friend, but an intimate conversation with the one who holds in the balance all our needs, desires, and fears. There is nothing mundane about thisopportunity to meet with God.
 
May our lives be saturated with prayer. May it be that our entire day is seasoned with conversations with our Father in heaven. No schedule is complete in the life of a believer that does not have prayer as its foundation. E.M. Bounds says, “A life of constant, persistent, and fervent prayer ought to be the ordinary Christian life.” 
 
Grace and peace,
Nathan