Realities of Life that Motivate Me to Pray
The twin realities of death and Jesus' return help me to make the most of each and every day.
There are a couple of realities that motivate me each day to spend as much time as I possibly can with the Lord through prayer and meditation. The first reality is that of my physical death. My death will come one day. It may come later in my life or it may come sooner—only the Lord knows how long my time here on earth will be. He has pre-determined the number of days we each shall live.
Thinking about death may seem strange, but this provides me with ample motivation to prepare myself for this inevitable reality. It motivates me to seize the day and make the most of the time that I have (see Eph. 5:15-16). Part of preparing myself to see my Lord and Savior is spending ample times with Him already here on earth. When death comes knocking, one of the things that I won't regret is spending all that time with Christ in prayer and meditation. In fact, when we get to heaven, what do you think we'll be doing there? We'll be spending a lot of time honoring and worshiping the God we love and who loves us. If we don't love spending time with the Lord here on earth, will we love it in heaven?
I think about my death on a regular basis to remind myself of its reality, to keep me humble in my attitude, and to help me seize each and every day for the Lord. As Psalm 90:12 (ESV) says, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Contemplating our deaths is one of the ways to help us receive wisdom. Reflecting on our limited time on earth will help us put things into proper perspective and help us make decisions every day that are much wiser.
The second reality that motivates me to spend lots of time with God in prayer is knowing that Jesus will return one day. We don't know when this will happen (see Matt. 25:13), but we have been told to be vigilant and to prepare for His arrival. One of the ways I prepare for Christ's arrival is through prayer. In prayer, I'm keeping watch knowing that His return may come at any time. I don't want to be caught off-guard when this happens. I don't want to be caught spiritually asleep—ignoring my spiritual life and my relationship with God. Instead, I want to be as presentable as I can be for when the Lord shows up. I want to be able to present my body as a living sacrifice to God when the time comes (see Rom. 12:1). Prayer and meditation helps my life become presentable to the King. And so, along with thinking about my death, I contemplate on Christ's return to motivate me to seize every opportunity to get myself spiritually ready.
The twin realities of death and Jesus' return help me to make the most of each and every day. I think about these realities often. They motivate me to spend ample times of prayer with God. They encourage me to make better and wiser decisions in life. I want to be ready should either death or Jesus' return usher me into God's heavenly kingdom.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
