I’m stuck in “do” mode. Even when I sit, pray, wait, my mind grabs hold of all I need to do. Sometimes, I know there’s no peace in that.
Other times, I find that God is right there with me. He’s given me a full plate for the day, or the season. He’s with me as I go through each responsibility and accomplish each new thing.
Paul wrote to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I used to wonder what that meant. Or really, I wondered how to do that. In those days, I prayed when I had my quiet time, at church, in Bible studies, when someone would give me a prayer request. Then I would go about my day, doing things on my list.
Honestly, as much as I didn’t want to or mean to, I’d forget about God. He wouldn’t be on my mind. I wouldn’t even think to talk to Him. To pray without ceasing seemed insurmountable.
I had things to do. I couldn’t simply stop life and only pray. And then I’d feel guilty. So I prayed about how to pray without ceasing.
It all seems foreign to me now, those wonderings. My whole life is prayer these days. I’m constantly praying. Jesus is with me wherever I go.
I might look like I’m talking to myself in the middle of the Walmart aisle, but I’m talking to Jesus. We talk about everything, what I’ll do for dinner, needs of my children, what I think of cleaning, how to get through a day, and all the concerns I learn of at prayer meetings and Bible studies, and from friends who stop by.
And I wonder, when did it change? When did I go from compartmentalizing my prayer life to being consumed by it? Realizing prayer is fellowship with my God? That there’s unity with Jesus in praying without ceasing?
It wasn’t a day that I can point to. But I’m sure it didn’t happen until after I first asked Him about it. And then I kept asking Him about it. And asked some more. It bugged me that I couldn’t pray without ceasing, and I bugged my God about it incessantly.
And He’d speak to me, nudge me to pray at odd, varying times. And He’d speak with me some more. And a little bit of this communion became a lot. And it increased. And my Jesus answered my heart’s cry.
Somewhere on the road, I began praying without ceasing. It happened because my God answers our heart’s cries.
And I find myself in a busy season and He’s right here with me. He’s in the busy times. He’s in the quiet times. He’s in the doing times. He’s in the resting times. I pray without ceasing, He’s with me without ceasing. And we’re together always. Praise His name!
