Although it had happened many times before, this time it jolted me. As I was praying, my mind began to wander. As soon as I discovered what was happening, I reprimanded myself. I forced myself to return to the prayer list so I could maximize my time.

That's when it hit me: In what should be an intimate meeting between the heavenly Father and one of his children, I'm operating from a businesslike agenda. I wouldn't permit myself to veer off the subject into random conversation. I simply left no time to be "inefficient."

The more I pondered this irony, the more I recognized how I had adopted an efficient, albeit sterile, prayer life.

My prayer list had become my agenda. I had reached a point where I felt guilty whenever I got hung up on one item and didn't cover the rest. Worse yet (or so I thought), some days other subjects interrupted my thoughts and I never made it to the list.

It dawned on me, however, that I don't organize time with my wife like that: "I'm sorry, honey. We have spent enough ...