{"id":216042,"date":"2016-03-02T08:15:48","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T14:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=216042"},"modified":"2016-02-29T13:53:19","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T19:53:19","slug":"a-fast-food-guide-to-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/a-fast-food-guide-to-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fast Food Lesson in Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf there\u2019s time to lean, there\u2019s time to clean.\u201d This old adage from the restaurant industry is frequently attributed to managers at McDonald\u2019s. The idea is that if you are a fast food employee and are not particularly busy at the moment, then instead of just sitting around \u2013 or leaning \u2013 grab a broom, mop or washcloth and start cleaning something. In a restaurant things can get dirty in a hurry so you constantly need to clean up.<\/p>\n

\"Cleaning\"

“If there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean.”<\/p><\/div>\n

You can apply this to your spiritual life too. Unless you were born without original sin \u2013 and nobody reading this can make that claim unless your name is Jesus or Mary \u2013 then your sole constantly needs cleaning too. The phrase \u201cIf there\u2019s time to lean, there\u2019s time to clean\u201d definitely applies. Or you may prefer this variation that I\u2019ve been thinking about lately: \u201cIf there\u2019s time to stray, there\u2019s time to pray.\u201d<\/p>\n

A priest once told me in confession to think about prayer and sin on a scale.<\/p>\n

\"balance-154516_1280\"<\/p>\n

His point was that if you pray more, you\u2019ll sin less. I think my response was something along the lines of, \u201cWow, you\u2019re right!\u201d Take a moment to ponder what your scale would look like.<\/p>\n

Just think about all the times throughout the week when your mind strays. And it doesn\u2019t just mean you\u2019re straying from the Ten Commandments or having sinful thoughts. It may just be idle times when you aren\u2019t thinking about anything in particular. Or maybe you should be thinking about your responsibilities like work or school but your mind keeps getting distracted. Why not fill at least some of those moments with prayer?<\/p>\n

In some ways, prayer is similar to exercise. Unfortunately sometimes it can be far too easy to make excuses not to do either of those. You know that you\u2019re supposed to exercise (and pray) regularly, but you just don\u2019t have the time because your life is too busy. Or you don\u2019t feel like exercising (or praying) because you\u2019re just too tired. The excuses go on and on.<\/p>\n

Snap out of it! If there\u2019s time to stray, there\u2019s time to pray. No matter how busy life seems to be, there is always time if you make an effort to find it. Think about all those mundane tasks during which you could get in some prayer time:<\/p>\n