Time for Prayer

“I’d really like to do mental prayer, but I don’t have the time.” How often this has been said! And in a hyperactive world like our own, the difficulty is a real one and should not be underestimated. But time is not always the real problem. The real problem is knowing what really matters in life. As a contemporary author remarked, no one yet has starved to death because they didn’t have the time to eat. We always find (or rather take!) the time to do what really matters to us. Before saying we don’t have time for mental prayer, let’s begin by reviewing our hierarchy of values, to see what our real priorities are." 
- Time for God pg. 26

Finding time for prayer can be one of the most difficult and discouraging problems most of us have with prayer. It is hard to find time for prayer in the midst of school, work, sports, activities, homework, and the many other things on our daily to-do lists. Like Fr. Philippe said, time isn't the real problem, it is knowing what really matters in life. In other words, if we "cant find time for prayer" we simply don't have our priorities set straight. In order to do this we need to review our "hierarchy of values" and know what really matters in life. If we really, truly want to grow in holiness, if we really truly want to grow closer to God, sometimes we have to be honest with ourselves and face the things that stand in the way of that relationship. This might mean we sacrifice television, video games, or social time to make time for prayer. Prayer must have priority over some of the things in our day-to-day lives that are really, truly unnecessary.