“As a bird without wings, as a soldier without arms, so is a Christian without prayer.” ~ St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
As most of you know by now, I have been on a “journey” of sorts the past couple of weeks. On Wednesday, January 29, I fell coming out of the office back door. I landed hard on my right knee and fractured the kneecap in two places. Luckily, the knee did not require surgery. Unluckily, it is requiring things I do not possess. You know, things like patience.
I am a go-getter. I want to do as much as possible and I go absolutely stir-crazy when I am forced to lay low. If I am not sick, I find it extremely hard to rest. Yet the first couple of weeks required just that: rest. Not just rest. Rest while keeping my leg elevated to reduce swelling and promote healing. That meant I couldn’t run around and do things.
Sitting in a recliner with nothing to do is not exactly the desired thing for the majority of a day. Oh sure, we often daydream of going to the house, kicking up our feet, and vegging out on some television. Watching TV for a while can be restful. Doing it for a day can be annoying. As can reading. As can napping. As can anything else.
What can help us when we find ourselves in that kind of dilemma? The answer is so simple yet often eludes us: prayer.
Why do we find it hard to turn to prayer?
I think it might be because we are people who find ourselves rooted in the world. Even though we know that we are not supposed to become emmeshed with the values of the world, we often find ourselves succumbing to the world. The more deeply we fall into the world, the harder it is to see the necessity to nourish our spiritual lives.
Being laid up can change that for us. I know it does for me. There have been a few times, through the years, that I have had to lay low: after my initial pacemaker implantation, after two different hip replacement surgeries, and after an umbilical hernia repair surgery, and now, after breaking my kneecap. I always prove to myself what I inherently know: I make a lousy patient because I have no patience.
In the midst of being laid low, I also discover the age-old truth: prayer can change everything. Prayer centers us. Prayer fuels us. Prayer calms us. Why does it do all of that? It is because prayer puts us in closer contact to God than we often are on a daily basis.
FAITH ACTION: How often do you pray? If you do not do so on a regular basis, make the attempt to get back to it. You will be surprised at what a difference it can and will make in your life.