Faith Filled Family Magazine December 2016 | Page 91

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or so many of us, life has
become a juggling act. On
any given day, we negotiate a multitude of responsibilities:
family, church, work, etc. Overwhelmed, stressed and frustrated, we procrastinate. At best, we
may find ourselves apologizing
for promises we could not keep
and find ourselves dealing with
the disappointments and anger
left in the wake of our fumbles.
At worst, our lives and even our
bodies pay the penalty. We forget to eat properly, sleep properly, or address aches and pains
vying for our attention. As a result, we end up in bed, the hospital or even a coffin. Our faith,
family, friendships and bodies
become casualties of our inability to prioritize. This conflict
is perfectly illustrated in a poem
entitled “No Time To Pray.”

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast
eyes.
For in his hands God held a
book;
It was the book of life.

mandments, we can confidently
extrapolate where we should
place our priorities.

After freedom from slavery in
Egypt, the children of Israel prepared to embark on their new
God looked into his book and life into the land God had promsaid
ised them. Before they could ask
“Your name I cannot find.
themselves, “How should we live
I once was going to write it once we get there?” God providdown...
ed some answers for them with
But never found the time”
his issuance of The Ten Commandments. Let’s take a look at
Though we may question the the first four:
conclusion of the poem, the
premise is incontrovertible. Too Priority Number 1
often we find ourselves torn between what appears urgent and
.You shall have no other Gods
what appears important.1 When
before me.
we don’t prioritize, we reap the
bitter harvest. This dilemma sug.You shall not make idols.
gests that we haven’t answered
two critical questions:
What
should our priorities be? How do
.You shall not take the name
No Time to Pray (Author Anony- we make that determination?
of the Lord thy God in vain.
mous)
With the bible as our manual for
.Remember the Sabbath day
I knelt to pray but not for long,
living, we have to look no further
to keep it holy.
I had too much to do.
than the book of Exodus. If we
I had to hurry and get to work
carefully examine the Ten Com- Each of these four commandFor bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried
prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to
friends,
They’d laugh at me I’d fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to
die.

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