⁷The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

With patient and enduring anticipation of Christ’s return, we focus on the here and now, with four imperatives. After all, what we believe must translate into how we behave. Knowing that our Lord will keep His promise to return for us, we must be about His business and do it in a God-honoring way.

So we need sound judgment, which is the ability to think clearly and be balanced in our life dealings. Christians should be spiritually and mentally healthy—that is, not just free of clinical or biological issues but able to think biblically, to make judgments about life consistent with spiritual truth. We should be so fully immersed in biblical truth that it seamlessly saturates our thinking about life, even to the point of daily decisions. This doesn’t necessarily mean we seek verses that direct us to a good parking spot. But it may affect how we react to not finding a good parking spot when we are late to an appointment. Or how we respond when unforeseen events thwart our life plans. Or how we decide to interact with those disagreeing with us over the affairs of our local church or our nation.

If I knew that tomorrow I would inherit a billion dollars, that would, of course, affect how generous I would be with my money today. Likewise, if I believe the end of all things is coming tomorrow and Christ is returning in grace and truth, that should affect all my decisions today! I would be more gracious and truth-telling.

I would also be more “sober” in spirit. This is the word used for not being under the influence of alcohol. Many things vie for control of our minds, but we must take concerted control of our thinking (see 2 Cor. 10:3–6). Mastering our minds is only possible through the spiritual transformation that comes by focusing on our Lord Jesus Christ and the Word (see Rom. 12:2, Col. 3:1–3). We have no time to waste, for Christ is coming back.

Why do all this? So that we can give prayer priority in our lives. We mustn’t be distracted by time-sapping, earthly, fleshly thinking that squanders our thought time. A clear, sound, controlled mind is a mind that prays better! Wasting time in mindless self-chatter leaves us ill-prepared to make sound judgments about the many complexities of life. We can avoid many regretful decisions by learning to develop a sober spirit. And we can clear our minds of clutter so that we can be more about meaningful, effective prayer.

Lord, thank You for giving me a clear path to a better prayer life.