As many you of know, today is the start of The Masters, the most prestigious golf tournament in the country (go Tiger!) and the unofficial start of Spring. Golf...it is a game of extreme courage, endurance, and especially patience, and one of our country's greatest pastimes. Great. So how does that relate to prayer? Well, I had the great opportunity on Tuesday to hear a talk from one of the deacons in our Archdiocese on this topic of prayer. He likened it to golf in that whenever you talk to someone about their golf game, they will tell you that they are not good and have room for improvement. They may be good in one area, but rarely put the whole thing together. You hear the same thing about prayer. Ask someone about their prayer life and they will tell you that they are not very good or that they do not have the time to sit down and do it. But unlike golf, prayer is not something that you do. It's something you enter into. It's something you experience. And if you implement those three key aspects of your golf game (courage, endurance, and patience) into your prayer life, I guarantee you will do...better.
COURAGE
Prayer takes courage. In fact, it takes a lot of courage. Much like the golfer that has to decide to go for it when he would rather lay up, we have to go for it in our own prayer lives. As Christians, we MUST have the courage to be explicit when we enter into prayer. We have to be able to tell Jesus EVERYTHING. Don't hold back. You know that place deep down inside where you hurt the most? For your prayer life to be the most full and to have that place healed, you have to open it up to Jesus. In fact, that is exactly where he wants to go, but Jesus is the perfect gentleman and will not go there unless you open that door for him. So be courageous. Be explicit. Tell him what is on your mind and never hold anything back. I mean...he already knows what you need better than you do...
ENDURANCE
You can't win a golf tournament in one round. It takes putting together four solid rounds to take home the green jacket on one of the toughest courses in the world. We have to do the same in our prayer life. Be vigilant. Keep running to Jesus with your arms wide open because he is at the end waiting for you. Jesus wants to answer your prayers, but it may take a few times. Why? Because what Jesus ultimately desires for you is a relationship. If he answered every prayer the first time, it would be easy for us to see him as just a means to an end. "Jesus I need help with this test." You get an A. "Jesus, I can't seem to find a job." The very next day the big law firm calls you and offers you a spot. While these things do happen, it is not all that likely. We must endure and keep going back to Jesus with the same things. And this is not just when you do not get an answer. For those times when you are praying with a particular passage and something really sticks out at you, go back to it! He is trying to tell you that there is something there. The last thing you want to do is keep it on that surface level. Endure. Go deeper. Let Jesus penetrate those inner most depths of your heart.
PATIENCE
In the game of golf, patience is so very key. A golfer has to be patient in his game. Nobody picks up a club the first time and is a scratch golfer. It takes time to really master the game. This is the hardest for me. Patience is a lot like endurance. The difference though is that endurance is active. Patience is passive. "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14). Being still is one of the hardest things that we face in this day and age where everything is instant. Our messages come over the internet and now to our phones. We can hop on a plane in the morning and be halfway around the world by night. But we have to find time to be still. The voice of God is magnified in the silence. Take some time everyday to be silent in the Lord and surely you will begin to hear his voice. When you are patient, things become more clear, and over time, those things in your life that seem dark and distant will begin to light up and become very near to you. But it does require patience. I have been trying so very hard to get out of the habit of always talking in prayer, and trying to take some time to let Jesus speak to me. Sometimes, it takes a couple minutes and sometimes it takes a few months. I am still waiting for answers to prayers that I voiced at the beginning of the school year. But, I know that if I remain patient, those prayers will be answered. Yours too.
Golf and prayer. So incredibly different, yet so incredibly similar. Be courageous. Endure. Be patient. Those three simple acts will not only help you shoot a lower score than your boss on a Friday afternoon, but they are essential to the life of your relationship with God. You can move forward in your prayer life or you can move backward. There is no middle ground. So, take these 3 action steps and apply them to your own relationship with God and see where He takes you!
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