I recently revisited the Gospel story of the poor widow who drops two small coins into the temple treasury.
Jesus watches her and says something remarkable:
"This poor widow put in more than all the others. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:43–44)
It made me think about prayer.
Do we give our time to prayer out of our abundance — or out of our livelihood?
Of course, when we find ourselves with extra time and use it for prayer, that’s a good thing. It matters. It counts.
But is that the only time we pray? Only when we have nothing else scheduled? Only when the kids are finally asleep, the inbox is empty, and the to-do list is clear?
Or do we sometimes give God time that hurts a little? Time we could be sleeping. Time we could be eating lunch, or working, or relaxing. Time we feel we can’t afford to give — but we give anyway.
That kind of offering costs us something. And I think that’s the point.
The widow gave not from her excess, but from her livelihood — from what she needed to survive. And Jesus called it more.