I sat at my desk and looked at the two books. One was my Bible, the other my Day-Timer. They were at war again. Personal devotions versus professional duties.

It was Friday morning. The Day-Timer was attacking with two unfinished sermons for Sunday, an adult Bible class to polish up, a bulletin to make, and three overdue visitation calls. The counterattack came from unshakable memories of sermons (some my own!) highlighting the importance of prayer.

It was a familiar battle. I-man of God, preacher of the Word-was also the chief operating officer of a complex organization. I had a million things to do. So a couple of verses, a run through the prayer list, and on to my real work. And I know this feeling is not unique to me.

When I finally decided to do something serious about my own spirituality, I made some interesting discoveries. The villains I most suspected turned out to be mere accomplices. The most important miscreant was hiding where I least expected.

At first I thought the problem was ...