which came first: prayer or life?

First of all, NO ONE got on me for not posting by 5pm yesterday! Come on people! Keep me accountable! :)

Yesterday was an interesting day. Our first full-day on-campus is always a decompression from everyday life and an orientation of preparing our minds, hearts, and souls for two weeks of intensive education time. So yesterday was a retreat. The theme: Prayer at the Speed of Life or Life at the Speed of Prayer.

We spent a lot of time praying, thinking, and meditating on this title. Is there one way that's the right way? Is there supposed to be a balance between the two? At a foundational level, what do these two phrases mean?

This is where I found myself at the end of the day (knowing that I'm not done thinking about it): I think for most of us on most days, Prayer at the Speed of Life is "normal." We have our schedules and to-do-lists. And we go through our day encountering people and sharing the Good News with them through our words and actions. As we are driving from place-to-place, we think of someone who needs prayer, so we lift their name to God. Before we go into a business meeting or a lunch time with a friend, we may pray for good communication or good fellowship.

But each of us needs a break from the daily. Maybe you need 10 minutes everday. Maybe you need an hour every two weeks. Maybe you need a whole day every 10 days. At some point we each need to experience Life at the Speed of Prayer in order to keep us grounded and centered on Him. We each need a focused time of being with the Creator. We each need to rest in the Comforter.

My encouragement to you today is to talk about this as a family. When do each of you individually take your time to be with Him? When do you as a family get together to be with Him? How can you make it a priority?