I work in a building that allows for personal and corporate prayer time. It’s truly a blessing. After chapel time last week, however, I was confiding in a friend how out of date the music was and seemingly irrelevant to our generation. (I know, not very unifying thoughts.)

Well, fast forward to this morning. I arrived at work just in time for chapel and decided it was a good idea to pop in. I’m glad I did, because I experienced one of the most profound prayer times in recent memory. It was really good. I felt the message was just for me. But, more than that, the corporate prayer time that followed was amazing. God spoke to me deeply and impressed upon me this thought:

Music will not be what unifies us, prayer will.

It was as deep and as tangible as I am sitting here typing on my keyboard and you are sitting where you are right now, and it is so true. Musical styles change. They come and go and then come back around again. There are styles that are dear to you and those your parents (or kids) can’t stand. If we try to base community around musical preference, we’ll only ever have a segment of the population of our church.

Prayer, on the other hand, is a unifying force in the body by its very nature. I have prayed with 9-year olds and 90-year olds, men and women, blacks and hispanics – and have never felt closer to someone else as when we are lifting our concerns to God and just worshipping Him for Who He is. There is a definitely something to be said for keeping our music on the cutting edge so that we aren’t becoming increasingly irrelevant to youth – but when it comes to being of one mind, prayer is where it’s at.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)

Today is the first day of my new schedule.  Alas, it has come to my realization that I must – ahem – grow up a little. :p  I know, I know, I swore as a kid I’d never grow up.  But with two kids of my own now, every minute becomes valuable.  And, if I’m really going to be a good husband and father, well… I recall the words of my 7th grade Phys Ed coach, “Suck it up, Laeger!”

Thing is, I know this will make me feel better.  I’ve set myself a wake up time of 6 am and a lights out time of 10 pm.  I’ve tried to work in everything from morning time devos to playtime with the boys – even a modest workout routine.  On top of this, today is the first day of a joint diet with my good friend Dave.  We’ve entered our weights into his Wii fit and will be tracking our progress over the next two months.  The goal is to lose 10 kilos (22 pounds).  I’ll let you guess what that’ll bring me down to.

So, blogging is on the routine as well, falling right after the workout – and man did it kick my butt tonight, which reminds me of a verse:

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)