That’s my new mantra. I think it pretty much says it all. I’ve encountered this basic premise several times over the last few weeks through several different types of media. Three simple steps. Pray. Listen. Respond. Everything else takes care of itself. We humans have a tendency to overcomplicated things. I recently was a part of a Six Sigma project at the office, where we basically spent three months identifying and mapping a problem and process for solving it, all the while knowing what needed to be done to fix it. Something rather simple actually. But we are creatures of process, of engineering, of muddying the proverbial waters.  Ever since Adam and Eve, we’ve been creating complexity out of simplicity. We’ve gotten really good at it.

I wonder, though, what would happen if we all mastered those three simple steps. Pray. Listen. Respond. I know, I know, it’s not nearly as easy as that. Trust me, I’ve royally screwed up each step in the process. I’ve prayed for the wrong things. I’ve failed to keep my ears open. I’ve resisted and refused to respond in the way God asked me. But just because I have a hard time following orders doesn’t mean we need to make the orders more complicated. Instead, I’d prefer to keep them as simplistic in nature as possible. Instead of getting lost in the process, I would rather expend all my energy trying to Pray better. Listen better. Respond better.