What If We Prayed As Much As We Play?

I like to have fun.

To me, having fun means doing something. I'm an active person, and most of my recreations involve getting out and moving. I like soccer and softball, cycling and camping, hunting and fishing, among other things. They all require work and effort, and I love it. When I'm doing one of these things, I'm all-in.

Each of these take a considerable amount of precious time, as well. I play soccer pretty regularly twice a week for 2-3 hours. Softball in the summer takes as least one evening. Hunting and fishing are at least half-day affairs. A bike ride for me is at least an hour and a half, camping a full weekend.

Most of these activities are done with at least part of my family, so I could say I do them to spend time with those I love, and that's part of the reason. The main reason for these activities, though, is because I enjoy them. I like to have fun.

The thing is . . .

I'm supposed to be a grown up. That doesn't mean I can't have fun anymore, but it does mean I have to have priorities in life. Not only am I supposed to be grown up, I'm a Christian. That means my priority should be God.

How do we know what our priorities are? It's not that hard. Where do you spend your time, your money, and your attention? Those are your priorities. Stop and think about that. Where do your resources go? Those are your priorities.

So I have a question.

What if spent as much time praying as we do other things?

How much closer would we be to God? A lot, I should think. Praying is about communicating and communing with God. Those people I am closest to are the ones I spend the most time with. I make them a priority, and sacrifice other things in my life to spend time with them.

What if we cut out some of our play time--whether it be sports, television, games or whatever--and spent that time with God? Do you think, perhaps, our priorities would change? I do. I most certainly do.

I know from experience that where I spend my time is where my mind is. When I work extra hours, I think about work more. When I play an extra game of whatever, I spend more time thinking about that game. When I spend more time with God, more of my thoughts are about Him.

It's common sense, really.

So how would our lives change if we spent more time in prayer? For starters, I think we'd be a lot less selfish. When you are more focused on God, you are less focused on yourself. We'd be more in tune to not only what God wants, but what other people need. Why? Because knowing God is knowing that what He wants is for us to love Him, and to love other people. The more time you spend with God, the more you will love those around you--including those you find hard to love.

In many ways, we are what we do. If we spend time with God, we are God-followers. If we neglect time with God and invest ourselves elsewhere, then we are followers of whatever has our attention at the time. The Bible says, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21). And I'm here to tell you, one of my greatest treasures is my time.

What if we prayed as much as we play? We'd be a different people.

Look around the world today. Do you think that would be a bad thing?