S152P2 – Our saintly duty: continual prayer
1 Ths. 5:16-22
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
A common memory of mine from childhood is standing outside the kitchen watching my mother talk to herself while cooking or doing dishes. Eventually, I would stop her and ask her why she was doing this, and she would tell me that she was just thinking. To this day she still does this, but I realize now that we all do this in some way. I might not speak out loud when I am alone, but the thoughts are in my head constantly. While at work doing my job, while driving, even while in conversation with others, my mind is on dozens of other things. No matter the amount of focus or concentration, there is always something else on my mind. It never stops, but perhaps there is a good reason for that.
To many, the idea of praying without ceasing sounds too demanding. They might see prayer as something you must do in private on your knees when not focused on anything else. If that is the only way prayer works, then it certainly would be difficult to pray without ceasing. However, I believe the sentiment behind this command is about making sure we remain connected to God in communication. All those things that preoccupy my mind during my waking hours should not remain just my thoughts. Those thoughts should be prayers. I should be taking them to the Lord. If I have a moment to think about it, I have a moment to pray about it. After all, I am not called to take this walk alone.
When I am thinking about how to handle a problem I encounter, I really am praying about it. Instead of thinking how can I solve this, I should be asking how can we solve this. Just as no request is too big for our God, no request is too small for him either. He wants to hear it all. It is about sharing our entire lives with him and consulting him regarding how we live them. That is why we plan tomorrow “God willing”. To pray without ceasing is to be in constant communication with the Lord, which means we also are listening and waiting on him. Father, help us to keep the line of communication with You always open, not only sharing our prayers but also listening for your reply.