Every once in a while, you just have to get away!  Right?  About three weeks ago, I could tell I was running on fumes!  Central had an AWESOME summer: over 800 new people were connected in Small Groups, launched a Summer Starting Point, our team led on-campus connection groups, and just tried to keep up with what all God was doing!  It was AMAZING!  But about three weeks ago, in the midst of all of this excitement, watching God do what only God can do…I hit a wall!  I hit it hard!  Do you know what I mean?  I had allowed the busyness of ministry to neglect one of the main essential elements of leadership:  PRAYER!  For the past two weeks, I was able to get away!  No emails, no phone calls, no deadlines, no emergencies…God just allowed me time to just unplug and be refreshed. 

During the break, I sat down with my Bible and came across some very familiar verses:

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sickness.  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.  (Luke 5:16)

Wow!  What a verse for me to read!  God reminded me of what was missing and why in the midst of all of this excitement, I forgot to pray!  What a simple thing to forget, but oh, how paralyzing it can be.  As Jesus’ ministry exploded around him, he found time to talk with God!  The  phrasing of Luke 5:16 implies that getting away was a habit in his life.  A successful ministry does not exempt any of us from prayer. 

In Deeping Your Conversation with God, Ben Patterson writes about a missionary named Mary Slessor who worked in West Africa during the nineteenth century.  Patterson states, ”her work among the orphans was nothing short of remarkable.”  But Slessor points out that it was not her work that was most important, rather it was something else that gave her success.  She writes,

Prayer is the greatest power God has put into our hands for service.  Prayer is harder than doing work.

As a leader, if I do not set aside specific times to pray; then I will fail as a leader.  It may not seem like it on the outside but on the inside I will find myself missing one of the most important essentials for my spiritual walk:  Prayer.  The old saying goes, “If I fail to plan; then I plan to fail.”    During some amazing times of ministry, Jesus modeled for us the essential to maintaining our spiritual health. 

So here is a question for you as a leader, how do you spend time in prayer?  Do you have a specific place you go or is it part of your daily schedule?  Also, is there something that I can pray for you or your ministry?