leftovers

Putting communication with God (prayer) ahead of other things in my life is looking to be an ongoing struggle.  Reflecting the other night, I came to the conclusion that in this area of my life, God is getting the "leftovers".  When everything else has been done, the last pair of pants ironed, the last Facebook status checked, the last lesson plan done, the last Bejeweled game played, the last email answered, THEN it is time for prayer.  The result of this is that I am often tired and often just blow through my prayers with about a half a mind working.  The focus is on just getting through.  The chances of God speaking to me through this prayer - or rather the chances of me hearing him - are slim.  And prayer is about communication.  The other option is that I pray before I do those things that I really "want" to do, which results in about the same effect - rushing through just to be finished so I can get on to other things. Maybe I should pray about prayer.

Also too, I realized that this attitude applies to other areas of my life, as well.  I can fuss and complain that things are not as they should be, but when I give only the leftovers...well...  Leftovers can only be reheated so many times.