day and night

A 16-century monk named Brother Lawrence, a lay brother in the Carmelite order in Paris, worked his entire career, at his own wish, as a scullery boy - the ones who clean up and wash dishes. His reason: the work not only was necessary service to others, but, undemanding in a mental sense, freed his mind to be able to pray constantly. I read some of his writing in a devotional, and it was humbling.

As much as I admire this man and other prayer warriors I know or know about, and as much as I wish I were one of them, I confess to a relatively short attention span when it comes to prayer. This morning, I’m motivated to try to change that.

In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable of the poor woman who wore out a judge with her constant pleading for justice. Finally, the judge gave in and granted her request because she was, he said, wearing him out with her asking. Then this, from verses 6-8: 

“And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’”

I wonder how often most of us pray for the things we’re most concerned about. When church member is diagnosed with cancer, do we pray every day for a week? Do we pray for a few days and then with the rest of the church on Sunday mornings? I’m guessing most of us don’t pray regularly for the duration of that person’s treatments.

Or when a family member leaves the church and lives in a way that looks to us outside of God’s grace, how persistently do we pray? Do we pray more than once a day? How long do we pray daily for them? Have any of us other than parents prayed daily for years?

I’m struck this morning with the idea that prayer the way Jesus tried to teach it requires an awesome amount of persistence and endurance. In fact, there may not be any other spiritual discipline that calls for more focus and consistency than this one.

I’m ashamed to admit that there are days I don’t pray at all, beyond what I do at mealtimes. Sometimes, though, I’m surprised to find out how much time has elapsed when I finish praying. The thing is, I need more of the second kind of day and fewer of the first.