Communication—the lifeblood of any relationship—is critical, but a host of adversaries stand ready and waiting to dry up its vital flow at every turn. A drowsy Sleeping Beauty (the Church—i.e. you and me) has become silent—her conversations with her Prince almost non-existent. Her lips are moving but nothing meaningful is coming out. Her voice is silent and the King’s land is in turmoil. Where is the battle cry of the Warrior Princess in response to the withering attack of the dragon’s legionnaires?

During the examination of the Bride and in the subsequent diagnosis, an interesting side effect of the poison’s toxicity has become apparent. It causes frenetic spasms and convulsions in the body. She is running in every direction, shaking all over the place, but getting nothing done. The busyness of her body has silenced the authority of her voice.

Like Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane on that fateful night when Jesus was arrested, the Church has fallen asleep, overwhelmed by the fatigue of busyness. At the most critical juncture of human history, the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples did not pray because they could not fight off exhaustion. We stand once again at destiny’s crossroads and the voice of the Bride—the prayers of the saints—has fallen silent, a casualty of an insidious and well executed plan.

If the enemy cannot lure you or me into sin, he will lull us into doing more for the sake of the kingdom. He has done a masterful job in convincing us that our Bridegroom’s love is based on what we do rather than who we are. What a lie! But you must admit it has been a very successful lie, bringing death and destruction wherever it has been ingested.

Prayer is the one thing the enemy fears because it is the life flow of divine communication between the Head and the Body. Prayer begins in heaven and the life of heaven then flows out as the Church takes her stand on God’s promises. It is a potent dialogue whose reconnection he simply cannot afford. Therefore he is fully committed to keeping the Bride both deaf and mute while she frantically scurries to and fro, industriously overwhelmed in spiritual insecurity and uncertainty.

O to hear once more the exquisite sound of the Beauty’s voice crying out in fervent, prevailing prayer would be divine. And yet it will not happen if you and I are too busy to pray.