Here’s a prayer, taken from a book I’ve nearly finished called Honest Prayers for Honest People (see here for more info on this and other scheduled books), for those days when you feel you’re drifting aimlessly, or when you know you should be doing something more important but can’t stir yourself to get round to it, or when you allow the business of daily life to intrude on time with God. It reminds us of the importance of sorting out our priorities if we’re not to find ourselves going further and further astray.
Lord, I’ve got my priorities muddled –
I know I have.
I should be making time for you, above all else –
time to be still,
to reflect on your way,
your will,
your word,
and to understand what you’re saying to me,
what really matters in this life …
and beyond.
And, of course, other things are important to me too –
my loved ones,
friends,
colleagues …
not to mention the stranger:
all those through whom you’re calling me.
I should be making time for them as well –
time to listen,
to love,
to care
and respond.
I recognise all that,
yet I can’t resist the siren voice of the trivial
and the allure of the empty:
that post on social media,
that TV programme I’m not really watching,
that piece of music booming through my headphones,
that column in the newspaper or magazine,
that online game that swallows up so many hours.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with these in themselves –
each have their place in the rich tapestry of life –
but none of them offers real happiness,
lasting fulfilment:
not without something deeper,
richer,
far more meaningful,
sustaining and nourishing me deep within.
I fret about the things of earth
and lose sight of the gifts of heaven –
gifts you offer me here and now,
in a life lived with you.
Forgive me my skewed horizons,and teach me to focus first and foremost on you,
so that every day,
every moment,
may be touched by your hand
and transformed by your love –
each finding its proper place.
Amen.