The other morning, I got up at 5:00 a.m., put on my gym clothes in a sleepy stupor, and got in the car.  As I pulled out of the driveway, the thought hit me: I really ought to pray more often. 

I almost started praying right there in the car, but no – that wouldn’t cut it.  I needed to be praying more like Jesus did.  You know, climbing a mountain, getting away from the world, spending a few hours saturating in the Father’s presence.  I knew I couldn’t do that, so instead I just drove forward when the light went green, did my workout, and came home with a little extra guilt.

In retrospect, I think that was a bad idea. I mean, think about it: sometimes in the busyness of life, my wife and I struggle to get time alone, away from chores and kids and social events.  There are days when our most meaningful conversation happens in the car as we’re driving from soccer practice to dinner with friends.  We certainly need to set time apart to be together, and we do.  But on those days when we’ve got too much to do, we’ve got to work with what we’ve got.  We’re not going to sit in the car in silence simply because we can’t get alone, stare deeply into each other’s eyes, and fall in love all over again.

I know we need to set apart time to simply be with the Holy Spirit; but we’ve got to start somewhere.  And one sincere, but brief, moment of affection with the Lord is better than all the guilt trips in the world, which tend to drive us away from Him anyway.  So whether you’re in the car, cooking, or waiting in line at the grocery store, give Him what you’ve got.  Ask Him to take your “five loaves and two fishes” of time and multiply them into a feast that will increase your appetite for more.

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