People are always busy, especially in the western world. No time for anything - busy, busy, busy all the time! In the midst of a very busy lifestyle in the States, very few realize that some of the most important things in life are being missed out. In the pursuit of money and material things and the comforts of life, life itself gets lost! Less important things take more of our time and attention and the things that really matter are pushed behind or ignored. Nothing worthwhile is being achieved and at the end of the day it is only the heartaches and regrets. Wrong priorities mar the beauty and the meaning of this one life God has given us to live. When the Lord Jesus came as a perfect man, He showed us the type of life that God intended every man to live. He became our model in everything. Let us look at the priorities of the life of Jesus as He lived in this word and fulfilled God’s plan for His life.

Luke’s gospel presents Jesus as a perfect man and shows us the values and priorities that Jesus maintained. The very first recorded utterance of our Lord sheds light on His main concern in life “the father’s business (Luke 2:49). He spoke these words as He was found in the temple the Father’s house, which is actually the House of prayer (Mark 11:17). Throughout His early life He was always concerned about communing with the Father. At the opening of His public ministry, as He was being baptized, He was seen praying (3:21). He comes to the public scene praying.

In Luke 5:15, we see a great multitude coming to hear Jesus and be healed by Him. And He withdrew Himself to the wilderness and prayed (v16). The crowds were not His priority, neither the healing ministry. Talking to His father was His priority. Luke 6:12 tells us that Jesus continued all night in prayer to God. He went out or withdrew and that was a deliberate planned act. He chose the presence of God rather than the presence of man. And in the morning, rising up a great while before the day, He went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed (Mark 1:35). He would not see the face of man before He sees the face of His father. Though a busy day with so many programmes lay before Him, He desired to set some time apart before entering it. He wanted to talk to God about men before talking to men about God; He spent the whole night in prayer before choosing the disciples, making one of the most important decisions in the ministry of the Lord. In Luke Ch. 9:18, we see the Lord praying alone. In the same chapter on the mount of transfiguration His countenance altered as he prayed. The gospel bears clear testimony to the fact that the priority of the life Jesus was the communion with the Father and this was not an occasional act but was done often.

If communion with God was so important to the Son of God while He was on this earth, how much more it has to be so for us too. The ease loving, comfort-loving Christendom today sees prayer as a ritual. Prayer is offered for namesake or for getting things done as a part of our routine. In the lives of most believers today there is no meaningful, deep level communion with the father. As a result of this, life is boring, miserable and monotonous. There is no rejoicing in the Lord always or experiencing the abundant life the Lord Jesus promised to give.

Prayer is declaring our total dependence on the Lord and our allegiance to Him. In prayer we are acknowledging our own inability and weakness; we seek God’s strength and wisdom as we seek the face of God. Prayerlessness is a sign of our carnal pride and it boasts that things can be done in our own power without God. No wonder families are breaking up, quarrels and divisions among God’s people are increasing, and believers are becoming more and more worldly in their outlook. Lack of heavenly wisdom renders us unwise to handle the complicated problems of life we are called up on to handle everyday.

People say they are busy. If someone is too busy that he cannot find time to pray, it means that he is involved in something that God has not intended for his life; he is busier than what God has planned for him. We need to learn to be satisfied with the lesser material things in order that we may find time to commune with God. The more material things one has, the less time he will have for God. A deliberate, disciplined effort is needed in order to manage our time and prioritize things in life.

Prayer is not merely an activity. It is a life lived, a lifestyle followed. You cannot live carnal lives and pray spiritual prayers. In your prayer life the whole life is involved. Prayer is the whole person. It is not just the word uttered. God looks at the heart as we pray and decides what answer to give. We need to have a heart condition that will prompt more than what you pray. Your life affects your prayer seriously. Our life has to be clean and holy before we can offer prayers that are acceptable to God. Today many live with secret sin and disobedience to God’s Word and at the same time pray for conversion of sinners and a change in the society. God wants to change the life of the one who prays before changing the society. A life lived in sin and disobedience to God’s Word cannot evoke any response from God. Unjudged sins, even in the thought life are an abomination to God. An unforgiving spirit, love for the world, bitterness and jealousy, backbiting, lustful looks are all equally detested by God. Prayers from an unholy heart are unholy prayers and they cannot enter into the presence of a Holy God. Only the man who constantly purifies himself (judging the sins in his own personal life) and maintains a clean heart can have meaningful interaction and communion with God.

At the root of prayerlessness is the lack of a true knowledge of God. You cannot talk to a God whom you hardly know. No one can keep talking for hours to a stranger; but to a friend, any number of hours would not suffice. Only one who knows God intimately can spend time with Him and intimacy grows as more time is spent with him. We need to pray earnestly that God might create in us a deep hunger to know Him. As we spend time with God, our intimacy with Him grows. Secrets are shared at the prayer closet (Ps. 25:14), impressions of what burdens the heart of God are made on our heart, God’s will is revealed (Ps.25: 12), our strength is renewed (Isa. 40:31) and His glory is radiated through our lives (Ex. 34:30). We will come to know God and His plan for our life and ministry. How can we fulfill His will for life unless we know it? There is no substitute for spending time with God. A praying man will accomplish more than a busy man. One of the greatest embarrassments many are going to face at the judgment seat of Christ will be the smallness of our praying.

So let us discipline ourselves to spend more time with God. Let us plan this time for God more precisely than we plan other things in life. May we ‘withdraw often to commune with our Heavenly Father. Shall we set a bulk of our time apart to talk to Him and sort out everything in our life according to His plan? Then we shall find real meaning in life and experience fullness of joy. Above all, God’s heart will be pleased as He finds pleasure in the company of those of us who wait upon Him day and night.