I’ve come to the staggering conclusion that I don’t pray enough. I say that with a wry grin on my face because it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve realized that! The thing that keeps biting me in the rear is my propensity to getting sucked into playing around on the computer. It’s pretty hard when you work for a living on the computer and are a total geek to avoid allowing yourself to surf the Web, check your e-mail, fire up a game, read the latest dozen or more blog feeds, look at the latest polling numbers for your favorite presidential candidate, and so on and so forth. The list goes on and on!

Some people, because they use a computer on the job, want nothing to do with it in their spare time. Not me! Set me in front of a cool Mac, and I’m lost for hours. The problem with that, of course, is that there is something far more worthy of my attention. Yes, by Jobs, there is a Thing that is greater than a Mac, greater than a game, greater than a movie or a book or a symphony or a significant other — greater even than life itself. And this Thing, this mind-blowing, extravagant Being, deservers our rapt attention and our undivided love.

I want to be an effective steward of the resources the Holy Spirit has given me. I want to be continually in a state of worship and exaltation, giving praise and thanks to the One Most High. I want to be constantly at the ready to impart peace, wisdom, understanding, healing, and transformation to any person I come into contact with who needs it. And I can’t be at my best, filled with the glory of the supernatural God I serve, without first spending time in prayer…lots of time…focused solely on the heavenly places and the things above. I can’t operate in the prophetic gift, seeing the unseen realm around me and discerning the spiritual atmosphere of the places in which I inhabit, without first communing with God, keeping my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and His beautiful countenance. Then, and only then, will I be able to walk in power and compassion; only then will I be able to affect change in the people and environments around me everywhere I go.

I’m tired of just playing and fooling around. I don’t mean rest — that’s very important — but I mean the idle fluff that is keeping me from becoming the person that God wants me to be. So I’m going to take a stand right now and say that I will place God first in my life, and I will turn to him before I turn to any other distracting pursuit that may have its usefulness but is not life’s ultimate objective. Lord, I will spend time praising you and listening for your voice, even if it means I have to look a few less blogs or a few less e-mails every day!