House of Prayer or Den of Thieves

[Based off a reflection by Carol Zuegner from Creighton University, here is a link

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/112213.html ]

I was reading a daily reflection today by Carol Zuegner from Creighton University on today’s Gospel from Luke 19:45-48 and one of the key verses she highlighted was Luke 19:46 which states “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’” Zuegner went on to explain that often times she doesn’t pray as much as she should and often offers to God a “litany of excuses rather than a litany of prayer.” What she said stuck a chord with me because in the past this too has been my own way of working. As a college student it has always been very easy for me to come up with an excuse as to why I can’t pray or attend Mass. I would use anything from “I have to study” to the typical “I’m tired” and my favorite “I’m just so busy,” when in reality those are the very reasons why I should have taken the time to pray.

                Too often we give ourselves excuses as to why we don’t have time to pray or attend Mass, and more often than not these excuses hold no weight in justifying our actions. Yes, life can be stressful and very busy, but that is exactly why we need time every day to take a step away from the busyness and be with God, our creator. For in those times of busyness we can ask God through prayer for guidance or moments of peace, and in those times of high stress we can ask God for strength and patience. This school year has been a very busy one for me, and I admit that in the beginning of this semester my daily prayer life was almost nonexistent. I had adapted a lifestyle of busyness: going to school full time, interning 16 hours a week, devoting much of my time to the Newman Center leading small groups one-on-ones and helping with Confirmation, all the while still trying to spend time with friends and keep up with my favorite TV shows. I was very busy, and my prayer life suffered because of it.

                But, after a few weeks of trying to balance all these things and stressing myself out, I had realized that I was doing myself a disservice by neglecting my prayer life.  Having spent a lot of my time prior to the school year devoted to daily prayer I knew that I was missing out. I was disheartened at the fact that I was no longer praying like I used to and I knew that I had to change my habits. My life that had once been a house of prayer had slowly, but surely become a den of thieves and the main culprits were all the excuses I had given that had stolen my time away from prayer.

                What I have realized now is that it is not our busyness that prevents us from praying it is our priorities. Sure I was busy and had a lot on my plate, but I also found time to watch TV, and I found time to hang out with my friends, and I had the time for social media, so in all reality I had time to pray.  I didn’t pray not because of all the excuses I had given myself, I didn’t pray simply because I didn’t pray. It was my own fault, and only I could change my behaviors, which is what I intended to do.

                A few weeks ago I spent some time with my small group talking about prayer and one of the things we looked at was all the times in the Gospels that Jesus went off by himself to pray. While Jesus was alive here on earth, He spent a lot of his time praying. If you read Mark 1:32-35 you see that after Jesus spent a whole evening driving out demons and curing the sick, Jesus arose very early the next morning and went up on a mountain and prayed. Jesus was constantly taking time out of his ministry to go off on his own in solitude and pray to God the Father. If Jesus who in His own right was very busy leading his disciples, preaching, driving out demons, performing miracles, and healing the sick could find time to pray, then I definitely have no excuse to not pray. Further more if Jesus who himself was God, still thought it important to pray, how much more important must prayer be in my life?

                Since that meeting with my small group, my prayer life has taken a change for the better, and I can tell you that my daily prayer that was almost nonexistent is now very much existent and consistent in my life today. Spending time with God each day in prayer has given me so much peace, and has given me the strength and the energy to tackle my busy life style and keep getting out of bed every morning. My prayer life isn’t perfect and every now and again I find days where I don’t sit down and pray, but I continue to try and keep at it because I know that I need God’s help to keep moving forward in life and tackle the trials that come my way.

                So as I conclude, I challenge all of you to examine your own prayer life and see if you have been living in “a house of prayer or a den of thieves.” Find the things that steal your time away from prayer and see if you can overcome them. Ask God for His grace and His intervention. Realize that God wants you to spend time with Him in prayer and will give you the ability to do so; all you have to do is ask. Work on developing your own prayer schedule and find ways that work for you and allow you to spend time with God every day. Start now, find time today to spend some time alone with God, after all if Jesus took the time to pray in solitude then we should probably follow his example.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing” I guess we better start now, after all there’s no time like the present. :)