One of the things I appreciate most about John Mark Comer’s writing is how straightforward he is about Jesus’s clarion call to unhurry our lives—not to check off a box but so we have more space in our hours to recognize and receive God’s goodness. As John Mark reminds us today, when we “waste” time with God, we are letting God love us into people of love. We are doing no less than dying to what is not worth pursuing. We are answering Jesus’s call to come and see. It’s a joy to welcome John Mark back to the farm’s table….

Guest Post by John Mark Comer

Every morning I get up early and begin my day with the ancient Christian spiritual discipline of really good coffee. I go to a little room in my house, close the door, sit cross-legged on the floor, and pray. 

Some days my mind is sharp and alert, my heart is burning for God, and I feel God’s nearness. Other days (more often than not) my mind is like a “banana tree filled with monkeys,” as Henri Nouwen once said—it’s all over the place, my heart is troubled and afraid, and I struggle to pay attention.

But even then, my time in the quiet is usually the best part of my day. Truly. Something dazzling has to happen to outshine it. Because it’s here, where I am most deeply aware of God, that I am most happy and at ease.

In our fast-paced, productivity-obsessed, digitally distracted culture, the idea of slowing down, coming to quiet, dealing with the myriad of distractions within and without, and just letting God love you into a person of love, sounds like a waste of time.

In fact, professor James Houston once called prayer, “wasting time on God.” He didn’t mean prayer is a waste; he meant, in a culture like ours, prayer can feel like a waste of time. But to those who have discovered the possibility of life with God, it is the pinnacle of human existence.

“… to those who have discovered the possibility of life with God, it is the pinnacle of human existence.”

Once you’ve tasted of prayer—true prayer—you realize that deepening your surrender to and honing your attention on God are literally the most important things in the world.

Prayer—of any kind—will always remain a chore, another task on our religious to-do list, until we come to realize that the reward for following Jesus is, well, Jesus. It’s the sheer joy of friendship with him. 

Jesus himself said to his disciples, “No longer do I call you servants. . . . I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Prayer is how we cultivate this friendship.

You can be friends with Jesus. Like Mary who “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39), you can sit before Jesus daily, letting him speak to you, teach you, direct you, and, above all, love you. 

If this isn’t your experience of prayer—if for you prayer is closer to boredom, distraction, and scary emotions coming to the surface of your heart—please don’t shame yourself or self-flagellate; that won’t help. 

Just keep praying.

“Once you’ve tasted of prayer—true prayer—you realize that deepening your surrender to and honing your attention on God are literally the most important things in the world.“

Stay with it. The one non-negotiable rule of prayer is this: Keep showing up. Stay with the process until you experience what all the fuss is about. Don’t stop until you know by direct experience what I’m stumbling to name with words. 

For years, when I read about monks and nuns who gave up a “normal” life to do little else besides pray, I’d think they were a little crazy. But what if we’re the ones who are unhinged? We who would rather binge Netflix or go shopping or play fantasy football than commune with Love loving? Who would rather give the vast majority of our time to slaving away for some job that will chew us up and spit us out the moment we’re no longer useful to the bottom line? Who choose to spend hours every day on our phones yet claim we “don’t have time” for God? 

Is your heart waking up yet? Is there a flame down in your soul starting to burn with desire for friendship with Jesus? 

Jesus is calling you to slow down and simplify your life around the three goals of an apprentice: To be with your rabbi, become like him, and do as he did. To make apprenticeship to Jesus the center of gravity for your entire life. 

The elephant in the room is that the vast majority of us have far too much going on to “add” Jesus into our overly busy schedules. I’m so sorry, but I don’t know how to soften the blow: There is simply no way to follow Jesus without unhurrying your life. 

Hurry is, arguably, the number one challenge you will face should you decide to take following Jesus seriously. Like an enemy, it won’t just stand in your way; it will actively fight against you.

So, this will require us to take intentional steps to slow down. It will likely start with a formation audit of our lives, where we take a serious look at how we spend our time and cut out more than we add in, in a desire to be with Jesus. 

“Hurry is, arguably, the number one challenge you will face should you decide to take following Jesus seriously.“

This may sound like no fun at all, but it’s good news—the best of news. Jesus is not a recruiter calling us to “hustle harder,” but the good shepherd of Psalm 23, calling us to “lie down in green pastures.” 

When Jesus said, “Come, follow me,” he was simultaneously saying there are some things we must leave behind. “Take up your cross” was a way of saying that sacrifice is required. There are things we must die to, release, let go.

In John 1, Jesus said to a few potential disciples, “Come and see.” Meaning, “Come and live the Way with me for a while, and see whether life together in the kingdom of love is not far better than any other kingdom, whether this path is not better than any other path.” 

Come and see . . .

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