Addicted to Busy

Luke 5:16 He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

I am not patient and I do not sit still well.  I prefer to do, which can be annoying to those around me.  I relax by engaging in what I consider to be leisurely activities, which my kids think look a lot like work.  Do not get me wrong.  I enjoy sitting at the beach as much as anyone, but after five minutes, it gets a little boring.  I have stuff to do.

So, for me to sit and pray is not natural.  I am not good at just being still and looking to God.  Jesus found this to be an important part of his life though, so I must ask why He did it and why I should do it.  What did He even pray about?  He could turn water into wine.  What need could have driven him to God in prayer?

I got to thinking about that question and realized that the question itself may be wrong.  I think of prayer as asking God for stuff, so naturally, Jesus must have been praying because He needed stuff too, right?

The passage here, refers to the crowds that pursued Christ.  Jesus was pressed by need around him, which I am sure was draining and distracting.  Jesus greatest need, I think, was not stuff.  He did not withdraw to lonely places to seek things.  He took time alone just to seek God.

Living in an earthly body, Jesus came to know the confines, defects and distractions of the flesh.  He had known intimate communion with the father, but on earth, He was occupied with the stuff of earth.  Even Jesus needed to take time to pursue his relationship with the father.

How much more do I need this?  The most important relationship in my life is with the father, but do I act this way?  If I audited my time and put it in a pie chart, what tiny sliver would be attributed to my time alone with God?

I am just so busy.  Family, exercise, work, leisure, sleep.  I just do not have time God. Sorry.  What percentage of that pie chart would be occupied by my time in front of the television?  What percentage would be in pursuit of the things I want?

The truth is, I have time for God.  I just do not give it to him. I am addicted to busy.  If I find my faith to be weak and my connection with God to be lacking, I have no further to look than the effort I have put into my relationship with him.

I can live close to or distantly from God.  He longs to live in intimate communion with me, but He wants me to choose it.  The truth is, I choose me most of the time.  If I long to know God, I need to pursue him and spend time with him.  I desperately need to take time daily to withdraw from the world to focus on him.  I have the time.