The Sheer Delight of Prayer
The idea that prayer is a sheer delight to engage in is important because it will be our most potent motivator.
There are a number of reasons why I choose to spend lots of time with God. The most important reason is sheer delight. I have discovered that spending time with my friend, Jesus, is a great joy and a great delight. This discovery didn’t arrive right away. It took me months of constant and challenging daily attention to prayer to uncover this truth. Admittedly, there were plenty of days when meeting with God felt more like a drudgery than a delight. But after about four months of disciplined prayer practice, a turning point occurred when I started to receive incredible joy in the spiritual activity and I now even crave for it.
An illustration might help us make sense of this. I don’t drink wine. I know many people enjoy it and I’m quite baffled by how some can consume vast quantities of this drink. But I haven’t been able to acquire a taste for it yet. I suspect, however, that if I drink enough wine consistently over a period of time, I will eventually develop a taste for it. I’ll probably enjoy it at some point and may even crave for it now and then. Having ample amounts of prayer might be an acquired taste for some. That’s OK. Let nobody feel bad about that. But I’ve come to believe that if a person drinks the wine of prayer and meditation consistently over a period of time, they will eventually develop a taste for it. They will begin to enjoy it and may even crave for it.
The idea that prayer is a sheer delight to engage in is important because it will be our most potent motivator. We’re not forced by God to spend time with Him. Our salvation is not hinged on whether we pray much or we pray little. Jesus paid it all once and for all on the cross and let nothing be added to how we are saved by grace through faith. So, if we are to meet with God every day, let it be because we have discovered sheer delight in this friendship we have with Him.
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.
