Back in the days when doctors made house calls, a doctor paid a visit to John, an elderly man who had called for him. Having treated John many times, the doctor had a good idea going in what the diagnosis would be. Old John was prone to suffer from a particular ailment that was preventable if he would just take his prescribed medicine each day. Unfortunately, John was also prone to be lax in doing that. Instead, he usually waited until he was in a bad way and then called for the doctor. It was all a little game that he and the doctor played.

Well, sure enough, the doctor’s examination showed that John’s failure to take his daily medicine had again created the problem. Once the doctor got the old fellow to feeling better, he said, “John, I’m leaving now. Just be sure to take your medicine.” In typical fashion, John replied, “But when should I take it, doc?” Even though the doctor had heard that question numerous times before, this time it struck a raw nerve. That prompted him to try a new approach with the old man. The conversation went as follows:

Doctor: “Well, John, you seem to be doing all right at this moment. Take the medicine exactly one month from now.”

John (astonished): “Pardon me, Doc, but did you say take the medicine in a month?”

Doctor: “Yes. That should work.”

John: “But Doc, I could be dead in a month.”

Doctor: “Oh, I see your point. Then I guess you’d better take it a week from now.”

John (incredulous): “You’re not understanding me, doctor. I could be dead in a week, too.”

Doctor: “Well, I suppose the odds are against that, but I can’t rule it out as a possibility. So, I guess you’d better start taking the medicine tomorrow.”

John: “But Doc, isn’t it possible that I could die today?”

Doctor: “Oh, right, I guess it is possible. Well then, John, I’ll tell you what I’d do if I was in your shoes: I’d start taking the medicine right now and then I’d take it every day from here on out.”

Christian, prayer is the daily medicine that Jesus, the great Physician, has prescribed for you. What does He say in the famous Lord’s prayer? “Give us this day our daily bread.” Obviously, that implies daily prayer. So, do you pray each day? For that matter, have you prayed today? Or are you waiting until you have to call for the doctor because you’ve let yourself get in a bad way?