In 1729, John Wesley began a club while he was a student at Oxford. Along with his brother, Charles, the members of the club examined their spiritual lives by daily addressing twenty-two questions. Number nine on the list of questions is this: “Am I enjoying prayer?”
I find Wesley’s question rather intriguing. While I pray several times a day for a number of different situations, I am rather ashamed to say that prayer can become somewhat arduous. Prayer can become a bit tedious and, at times, downright drab if I’m not careful.
However, my mood is different when I receive a text from my daughter, whom I haven’t seen in several days. I am elated when my wife rings my cell phone in the middle of a work day. I relish a Facebook message from a friend with whom I haven’t spoken in years. In each case, my desire to communicate with these people is high. I relish the moments we share together.
Why, then, would my conversations with God be less enjoyable? Christian author, Richard Foster, writes:
Prayer is not so much trying to find an answer or
asking for help to overcome this or that.
Prayer is the creating of an open space; an empty place
Perhaps the greatest challenge to enjoying prayer requires that we seek less from God’s hand and more often seek His face. Like little children, we can become spoiled and unhappy the more we expect from others. Instead, our happiest moments occur when we simply enjoy being in the company of the people we love.
Our relationship with God is truly no different. Our continuous demands of God can spoil our spirits and prevent us from enjoying God’s company. Now, please don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not suggesting that you stop interceding in prayer on behalf of others or even for yourselves. What I am suggesting is that, like Mary, you also make room for the best portion of the meal that God has to offer: a relationship with God Himself.