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So, I walked into my office this morning completely exhausted after a long weekend. I sat down in my chair with my coffee (as is my custom) and was preparing for another day of the hectic life that is full-time youth ministry. When all of a sudden I felt an urgent desire to seek the face of God. Honestly, I thought it was a little odd considering I had been at church all weekend. I was at a men's conference Friday and Saturday, a youth revival Saturday night, and at church twice on Sunday. That should have covered my God quota for the weekend, right? Yes, I am being a little sarcastic. But that's how we think. We think that if we meet our "requirements" for church then we shouldn't have to go above and beyond that.

I felt a sincere need to seek His face this morning. I usually spend time in prayer and devotion every morning, but this was different. I felt God drawing me near to Him at a time in my life where the room seems to be spinning. God was saying, "Turn the lights out, put the phone up, get away from the computer, lay on your face, and listen to ME!" As I began to let the God of the universe talk to me, I realized a few things. One of which was that I don't do this much. By that I mean that I don't spend time seeking Him on my behalf much. I spend most of my prayers on the ministry and others. I realized that I wasn't very comfortable praying for myself. That's not good. In order for me to be effective in my ministry I have to have me and God time. A time where God works on ME, not the ministry.

I didn't come away from my prayer time satisfied. I came away hungry for more, feeling more of a need for Him.

Statistics show that the average youth pastor spends about 3 minutes a day in prayer. WOW! That is scary. How in the world can I minister effectively on 3 minutes a day. It would be like a professional athlete trying to compete on just a handful of peanuts. Ministry starts and ends with Godly leadership. If we aren't in the prayer closet daily, our ministry will show it and our people will know it.