A Prayer About Time

When I make plans

DEAR LORD,

When I was a child, a year seemed a long time because it comprised a significant percentage of my life to that point. I could hardly imagine living to thirty—so many years away. As I grew older, I thought about my future—education, career, marriage, and other dreams—confident that I would fulfill them; it was just a matter of time. Now looking back, I wonder how those years slipped by so quickly. I still make plans, Lord, but I have learned to hold them loosely because I am not you and do not know what will happen. You have also taught me that I should make the most of today because tomorrow is not promised. This means I should not wait for a better time to use my gifts, to comfort the hurting, to share the gospel, and to invest my resources for your Kingdom. Life truly is short, Lord. Thank you for the years you have given me and for all the blessings they contained. I will continue to plan, but I know that your plans will prevail.

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15