Prayer as a Priority Matters

I was raised in a minister’s home where we learned early that prayer was the

most important thing. One of our daily prayer practices was for our mom to pray with us each day before we left for school. One morning we were running late when we heard the school bus horn. We quickly grabbed our school bags and ran outside.

All day long I kept feeling apprehensive because we had not stopped to pray before running to the bus. I was in the fourth grade and can remember quietly praying throughout the day in between studies. That afternoon when the bus let us back off at our house, my brothers and I would always race from our big front yard to the house. My older brother and I were running at full speed when we were suddenly knocked backwards off our feet and landed on our backs on the ground. We had no idea about what happened. Then we noticed the telephone company was running a line between poles, and it was about chest high across our yard right at the time we got off the bus and ran. The workers rushed to us to check if we were ok. My first thought was, “We didn’t pray this morning!”

Thankfully, we were not hurt but these many years later I can remember that as clearly as if it just happened. In the fast pace of life, it is easy to push prayer to “later” when we have so many other obligations on our schedules. However, for me, I have a distinct reminder of that day and through the years I give my best efforts to prioritize prayer over other things.

Even when I am in a hurry, I still find time to acknowledge God first. Sometimes it may be just a few words of thanksgiving or asking for direction, but it is a lifelong habit to recognize God first before any other activities. As I write this, I think of our times visiting that same brother in Israel where they lived, and anytime before walking out of their...