Life of Prayer

I have been reflecting on the reality that prayer, and the life of prayer, is where life, fully alive, is lived.

Everything else, by comparison, is living superficially.

It is in prayer and contemplation that I am in touch with my own deepest places and with as much reality of God as I can, at any one moment, contain.  It is a relationship that is at the basis of all reality.  It is relating to God as friend, lover, father, mother, comforter, protector, and sovereign all at the same time.  Nothing else can touch the dynamic of my soul infused with God's reality.

Yet, I am continually pulled away by the triviliaties of life.  My excitement level rises as I pursue goals, complete projects, and perform well in situations that are meaningful to me.  Certainly, these are life experiences that are meant to be enjoyable.  But I find myself trying to live off of these external experiences and they can not deliver anything more than a moment of satisfaction.  When I look to these things for a deep sense of life, I am condemned to a roller coaster existence riding the ups and downs of the successes (and failures) of life.  In the end, they prove to be fickle and superficial if I look to them for any measure of deep fulfillment.

For a deep sense of life, I return to the one thing... the one pursuit... to love God through prayer every moment.