“Are you the man who prays?” The question humbled me.
I had just finished leading a voluntary staff prayer meeting at nearby organization when she posed the question. I’ve had the blessing of leading prayer times with the team there several times over the last two years. I never realized the impact those prayer times were making beyond the special needs for which we prayed. I answered her question in the affirmative, now I need to make sure I was telling the truth.
As disciples of Jesus, we are supposed to pray; we are commanded to pray; we are instructed how to pray. However, if we are honest with ourselves we often talk more about praying than we actually pray.
We promise to pray for someone when they share a request or tell us of a difficult time in their life. But more times than we care to acknowledge, we forget the request before we ever bring it to the Lord. Sometimes we will remember the request for a couple of days, but then it we soon forget it.
In his instructions to the young church in Thessalonica, Paul included several short challenges at the end of the letter. Among the challenges is a powerful admonition about prayer.
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
At first glance, this seems an unreasonable challenge. We cannot walk around with our heads down and eyes closed all the time. We cannot drive, work, dress, or function if we maintain the usual posture of praying.
How to Pray Without Ceasing
I believe the challenge is not about a 24/7 prayer posture , but rather a prayer attitude. Prayer is more than words spoken to God, it is also an attitude of the heart. God hears the silent prayer uttered in solitude at the same volume as the verbal prayer in church. I have learned some practices that help me stay in communication with God throughout the day. These practices enable me to maintain an attitude of praying without ceasing.
1. Practice the presence of God.
One of the habits I have developed is to quit saying “Amen” at the end of my personal prayers. Saying “Amen” is like hanging up the phone after a conversation. If I say “Amen,” I am through talking with God, and I never want to be through talking to Him.
Not saying “Amen” is more than a formality, however, it is a reminder that I am online with God all the time. Sights, sounds, and sensations of the day can cause me to reflect on God’s presence and goodness toward me. I am learning the discipline of living each moment as though God is sitting in the seat next to me. Who would ignore the company of a friend, but rather engage him conversation? I can converse just the same with the greatest Friend who is with me always.
2. Seek intentional prayer times.
Admittedly, I have often referred to devotional praying as my “prayer time” – singular. Why do I relegate something as blessed as praying to a one-time-a-day activity? I have started setting alarms during my day to offer a short prayer. Every couple of hours, an alarm goes off on my phone to remind me to pray. You can set times during your day to pray, maybe on the hour, or at certain intervals.
3. Take “daily cues” to pray.
We encounter things everyday that we can train ourselves to use as reminders to pray. Whenever I hear or see an emergency vehicles, I pray for first responders and the situations to which they respond. I pray for law enforcement officers whenever I see their vehicles. I pray God protects them and helps them protect us.
Other daily cues could include sunrises and sunsets, flowers, and other natural cues. I mentioned earlier sights, sounds, and sensations. Learn to allow the things happening around you to generate prayer as you experience them.
4. Pray after personal interactions.
One other way we can maintain a pray without ceasing attitude is to close our personal encounters with prayer. After sending an email to an intended recipient, send a prayer on their behalf to God. After a text exchange with someone, mention their name and need to God.
When you end a phone conversation with someone, end it in prayer – with them if possible and appropriate. If you have a face-to-face conversation with someone who shares a need, pray with them before you part. If that is not feasible, pray for them as soon as you leave.
Even as I was finishing this blog, a friend texted me with a prayer request concerning their job. What a great reminder to stop writing and pause to pray.
The Ongoing Challenge
All in all, we can find lots of ways to stay “online” with God throughout the day. I am also learning that it is OK to go to sleep while talking to God. What better way to drift into unconsciousness that talking to the one who holds me while I sleep.
What are some ways you stay in an attitude of prayer throughout the day? Feel free to hit the comment tab above (under the picture, next to the date) and share your story.
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“Practicing the Presence of God” is a concept developed by a 17th century monk named Brother Lawrence. Below are links to 3 versions of his classic book, published from his diary after his death.
Free Online Version of Practicing the Presence of God
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