We live in a busy world. While it is good to be busy with good things, there is such a thing as being too busy for your own good. Our culture often sends the message that your worth is tied to your productivity, so we constantly try to multitask as we move from one overcommitment to the next. This is not to say that hard work is bad. A Christian ethic of work teaches us to work hard, be diligent, and faithfully look after our responsibilities in life. But beyond our responsibilities, sometimes we’re just too busy. When we look at the life of Jesus, we discover a litmus test that you can apply to your life to determine if you are too busy: if you are too busy to pray, you are too busy.

Jesus was clearly a busy man. His public ministry entailed long journeys, hours of teaching, and endless crowds pressing in on him, hoping to be healed. Led by his compassion for the people who were “like sheep without a shepherd” he gave sacrificially of his time and energy for the well-being of others. But in the middle of such a busy ministry, Jesus still made time for prayer. And he didn’t just make time for prayer once in a while, when things were slow; he made a practice of praying because he knew how important it was to stay close to the Father and to nurture his relationship with his Father while in his ministry on the earth. In Luke 5:15–16 we read, “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” Luke indicates that Jesus’ practice of withdrawing to remote places for prayer was not a sporadic occurrence, but a regular habit of his.

If Jesus was as busy as he was and yet still prioritized time to spend in prayer with the Father, surely we can do the same. Let’s follow in Jesus’ footsteps and be busy with good things, but let’s not forget to protect time for praying to God. If Jesus needed an active personal devotional life, how much more so do we? How can we expect to do the will of God in our lives if we are not spending time regularly with God, both hearing from him through his word, and speaking to him in prayer? Jesus’ example shows us the importance of having time to be alone with God, even in the middle of busy seasons of life. Undoubtedly, this practice of regular time with the Father provided the fuel he needed to keep going with his ministry. So what about you? Are you busy? There’s nothing wrong with being busy with good things. But are you too busy? Do you ever have moments alone, somewhere quiet, when you can pray undistracted? Remember, if you’re too busy to pray, you’re too busy.