What were you praying about?

I went to pick my brother up from his church, Church of the King, in Berkley, Michigan.

I saw my friend, the pastor of the church, Brad Leach there, and I met a lady who had 3 children- two girls and a boy. They had just gotten done with a "prayer walk" (I used to be curious about what that meant, and found out that it just means you walk while praying. Go figure). So, brad asks a girl, about 4 years old, what she was praying about.

She just shrugs and says, "I don't know, but I got really sweaty."

I could instantly picture her walking around kinda acting like she was praying. She was so determined, in this movie of her in my mind, to do the prayer walk, following whomever was in front of her and stomping as if she were upset and doing the actions her mom was doing and working up a sweat, that maybe she forgot why.

I do this often. I get so caught up in whatever action i'm doing that I often forget why I started doing it in the first place.

I'll get into a habit of reading my Bible before I go to bed because I realize the need to draw close to God through His word. I get really excited about it, and I love doing it. Then, 5 nights later, I dislike the very thought of it; I view it as a chore.

The problem isn't that I'm not spiritual enough; the problem is that I often get into a good habit and forget the end goal. I forget why I'm doing it.

The end goal of reading my Bible was to draw closer to God, but I, like the little girl, just forget why.

I'll get all sweaty doing it (that, my friend, is a metaphor), and maybe feel good about myself because hey, I read the Bible every night, and that's really spiritual. But in the end, am I really doing anything at all, or am I just working up a sweat?

I guess all of that to say that not only is it important to set goals and follow them, it's also important to remember why you set the goal in the first place. Constantly remind yourself of that. Write it down and tape it to your wall. Do whatever you can to make sure you don't just do it. Do it with a purpose in mind.