One New Year’s Day during the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. Out of gas. The whole parade was held up. Who did the float belong to? The Standard Oil Company. Even with vast oil resources, its truck ran out of fuel that day.
It’s the same for us. Though we have access to God’s power, we don’t always avail ourselves of it, and we run out of gas. One way to refuel is to take time to be alone with Him in prayer.
But competing for our time is work, family, children, relationships. Even errands and housework. And how about social media? In a recent article on uswitch.com, a study showed the average adult spent an average of three hours a day on social media in 2020—up from 90 minutes a day in 2012. And Americans spend 58 minutes a day on Facebook—325 hours a year!
Reading these numbers put things into perspective for me. Unless we deliberately set time aside to share our thoughts, concerns and prayers with God, it might not happen. And if it does, it’s often sporadic or in times of need.
Prayer is about connecting to our Creator, the reason for our existence. We can glean from His presence the path to take. We can be guided by His light in times of darkness. Prayer fills us with love. It teaches us to love as God loves us, to serve in the spirit of Jesus and to endure in times of troubles.
Author C.S. Lewis wrote, “God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirit were designed to feed on. There is no other.”
In this fast-paced world, we all need time by ourselves to think, reflect, rest and replenish. But time alone with God is the foundation for our spiritual development and source of strength.
Author Henri Nouwen wrote, “Solitude begins with a time and place for God, and Him alone. If we really believe not only that God exists, but that He is actively present in our lives—healing, teaching and guiding—we need to set aside a time and space to give Him our undivided attention.”
When we make time and give Him that undivided attention, as author A.W. Tozer noted, “the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart . . . until a sense of God’s presence has enveloped you.”
