Every summer we make plans to vacation for a week at a lake with a boat and a couple of fishing rods. It usually takes a few days to unwind and get into the slow rhythm of vacationing. So relaxing compared to the nonstop rush of living in the suburbs.
One year we ended up at a rustic cabin in a small town. You know the kind of small town that rolls up Main Street at midnight. There was one bait store, one gas station, one pizza joint, and one grocery store. We had just got settled in and headed for the bait store. The hours stated that they should have been opened but a little hand written note read “will be back later…gone fishing”. How crazy I thought; who runs a place of business like this. Nothing we could do. 
Contrary to our way of life we had to go relax and wait. Something we aren’t use to doing.
We are so busy with living that we often miss the minutes in an hour. We like having everything in an instant and never do we like to wait it out. Barely finish one event and speeding off to the next. Before lunch dishes have been cleared we are making dinner arrangements. Plans for the following season start before the current one has had a chance to begin.
This way of living often flows into our spiritual life too. We are known to shoot prayers up to heaven like arrows flying off a bow, never taking time to see the outcome. To make our prayers mean anything we need to slow down, relax, and wait. (Maybe even do some listening.)
We pray for good health and expect God to make it happen with a bottle of vitamins. We pray for world peace and think nothing of stabbing our coworker in the back over a promotion. We pray for financial security and complain that money doesn’t grow on trees.
Our prayer intentions need our attention. A good prayer is when we slow down, clear our mind, relax, wait, and listen for God’s answer.
Has your life been a little crazy, too many projects, too much going on? Make some time to get away for a spell. Learn from a guy who likes to fish and knows how to enjoy life; every once in a while take some time for yourself; write a little hand written note…”will be back later…gone praying”.
Enjoy life’s minutes. Keep prayer alive.