I find that the struggle to live a life of prayer in my busy, 9-5 life is a bit of a paradox. And that kind of doesn’t surprise me, because most of the ways of the Kingdom of God seem to be be this way. Here’s what I find ironic: I believe that the easiest way to live a life of prayer in a busy world is to live out one of the hardest commands to fulfill, which is to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess.5:17).
It can be so easy for me to think that a life of prayer only looks like “quiet time”, or “contemplative prayer”…extended periods of prayer in solitude. While I know that there is no substitute for those sessions of long and loving meditation, I’m also learning (slowly but surely) that prayer can occur all day, every day. It is when I learn to converse with God through the little moments each day that I find myself living a life that more closely resembles the prayer-centered life that I long to live.
Someone once told me that life can be broken down into 30-second segments. It is in those little snapshots of life that I find it’s easy to build momentum moving towards God, or from Him. Those 30-second windows are perfect opportunities to offer up little phrases of love and thanksgiving…these are the very prayers that make Jesus say “…you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes” (SOS 4:9). I also find that these are the moments when satan loves to tempt and distract. It’s so easy to “check out” in these moments. But I have also found that my heart makes it through the day with a much bigger “skip in it’s step” when I take these moments to love and adore the One who loved me more thoroughly than any earthly love.
I encourage you, in those slow moments today between work and family and phone calls and whatever else you do, take a breath and gaze with the eyes of your heart on the One whose eyes are forever fixed on you. Give Him a little “I love You”, and I know that you’ll start to feel that weak little prayer overcome His heart. And this type of prayer, in these little 30-second windows, is the doorway to praying without ceasing.
0 Responses to “Pray Without Ceasing”