Have you ever found yourself too busy to pray? Sadly, I have thought this was my life recently. This has been a busier season in my life than I have experienced in a while. Due to the different aspects of my life whether it is family, church, or just general life this has been a stressful season. Early in this season I saw the time I spent in prayer decrease. In most circles, it may be unbecoming of a pastor to admit to that. However, I value honesty and there is strength that can be found in our confessions.
I read this book at a more leisurely pace than most. Instead of rushing my way through this, I took time to digest the words that were written. I wanted to get to the heart of what Hybels was saying and ultimately to the heart of God. It would have been easy to read the book simply out of habit and to strike another one off the ever-increasing catalog that needs to be finished.
I found that through a gradual reading of this book, Hybels is right. Sometimes we do simply need to slow our lives down. When we slow our lives down we can command them to align with biblical priorities instead of simply running the rat race of life. When we can control our lives we are able to focus more energy on Christ and allow God to work instead of feeling like we have to solve all of our problems on our own.
Hybels gives practical advice on how to make prayer a priority. He encourages us to make it many things, but he encourages us to never make it boring, lifeless, or without answer. One of the byproducts of prayer that will encourage your prayer life more than anything is answered prayers. How can one have answered prayers if they are not praying?
If you are looking for a quick, but practical book on regaining your prayer life, this is it. When you do get your hands on it, do not rush through it. Instead, take time to ponder the words and how to apply them to your own life. If you do that, you may find a deeper prayer life than you have experienced this far in life.
I would love to hear your thoughts about prayer whether you have read this book or not. Do you find your prayer life empty? How do you manage to keep yourself rooted in prayer? Do you feel like your prayers are meaningless?
