There are times I willfully elect to shoulder the burdens of others in prayer. It is in those private conversations with God that I sense the nearness of His overwhelming presence.
For most of us, life is a whirlwind and just to fit work, sleep and meals into our life is a major feat. When kids, school activities, and homework are added to the mix plus family time and household chores, we begin to operate in crisis mode.
I work from home and moments of solitude are difficult to fit into my day. There is a continual entourage of workers, delivery people and grandkids in and out my doors at all times. It takes commitment to find quiet time to read God’s Word and pray amidst all the chaos that surrounds me; but, I know a spiritual appointment is necessary if I want to live a balanced life.
My dad was a pastor. It wasn’t uncommon to find him in his office with a notepad next to his open Bible in preparation for a Sunday sermon. A pile of books sat on his desk and he would occasionally pull one from the stack and highlight a portion of text and then flip to a page in his well-marked Bible. There were other times I would find the door to my dad’s office closed and I knew not to enter; he was having a private conversation with God.
In my youth, I didn’t understand why my dad had so many office appointments with God; now, as an adult, I know why. Those appointments with God were scheduled out of love for the salvation of others, his family and a spiritual renewal to fulfill his duties as a pastor. I’m certain there were times my dad wanted to do other things, but he knew to cancel appointments with God would be detrimental to his spiritual well-being.
The day my dad took his last breath I was overwhelmed with emotions of grief and joy. Grief for my loss, but also joy for the many people this man of God had touched in his lifetime. I was thankful for his lifelong office appointments with God. He showed me, by example, those private appointments with God are critical to our spiritual well-being.
When was the last time you scheduled a private office appointment with God?
Denise Marks Blog 
Oh, Denise, I love this tribute to your Dad and the reminder that we must plan our time to include Him. You’re right about the difficulty of sticking to the plan….we can be so easily distracted. I am one of those thankful ones to have benefitted from your Dad’s spiritual wisdom and strength. I believe one of his prayers for my family has been answered recently and I can imagine him smiling down at the new believer. You were definitely blessed to call him Dad and blessed that he was so connected to Our Father in heaven.