If I were to sketch out a schedule for my ideal day, there would be several opportunities for prayer sprinkled throughout. No matter where I was in any given day, I’d only be a few hours away from a pause. The positive benefits of prayer are well established, spiritually and psychologically. Why is it so hard to commit?

Like any of the other things we should do each day to be and feel our best, resistance to prayer is strong. Our minds wander, we’re overwhelmed by our to-do list, and there’s always something else to do at that moment that feels “right.”

Discipline is required to accomplish anything great, but I think that nurturing and developing ourselves spiritually requires more than just raw discipline. It’s not enough to just show up and go through the motions; we have to desire to pray. We have to be obedient.

God’s great plan for our lives is revealed through scripture and tradition. He wants us to live freely and joyfully. Our experience in this fallen world shows that living out that plan is no easy task. Even when we’re spiritually healthy, the responsibilities and chaos of our day wears on us. Our vision for the future fades in the onslaught of the here and now.

Obedience to prayer is a voluntary surrender to God’s plan. It’s sacrificing a part of our day to spend time with true peace and true love, and to place God’s will before our own.

Tomorrow morning, in the early hours after my walk but before the kids wake up, when the house is still and dark, I will not go sit down at my desk. I will not open the newspaper or open up YouTube. I’ll sit down in the stillness of the living room and spend a few quiet minutes with the giver of all good gifts.

Tags: Prayer