Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41
“The paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. We cannot plan, organize or manipulate God; but without a careful discipline, we cannot receive him either. When prayer makes us reach out to God, not on our own but on God’s terms, then prayer pulls us away from self-preoccupations, encourages us to leave familiar ground, and challenges us to enter into a new world which cannot be contained within the narrow boundaries of our mind or heart. Prayer, therefore, is a great adventure because the God with whom we enter into a new relationship is greater than we are and defies all our calculations and predictions.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen in Returning to God: A Lenten Journey with Henri J.M. Nouwen, ed. Steve Mueller, 14. Click to download it freely.
By the time this posts I should be departing North Dakota, heading into South Dakota, Wyoming, and eventually, Colorado en route home (unfortunately, without my iPhone…though in God’s providence, John lost his iPhone days before I arrived and ordered a new one. Just before his new phone arrived, he found his old one, then I lost mine, so he graciously gave his old one). I am giving thanks for some sweet fellowship with brothers and for 12 pheasant for my family to eat this winter.
Ten hours in a car is a long trip alone, which is why I have blocked the day to listen and pray. The benefit of praying while driving is that I am highly motivated to stay awake. Have you ever blocked a day to listen and pray? Nouwen is spot on in saying it’s both a gift, that is, a reflection of God’s generosity, and an adventure. The irony is that most people, including myself at times, say they are too busy to pray. What about you? Is it time to schedule a day with God?