PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

One day when I was reading the following verses in my Bible, God really brought verse 17 to my attention.

1Th 5:15 See that none gives evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue the good, both towards one another and towards all.
1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18 In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Pray without ceasing?? Never stopping?? How can a person do that??

The Old Man of Prayer

I had this picture in my mind of and old man dressed in New Testament times robes, kneeling in a position of prayer, where he had been all his life. In my mind he had never moved and had never stopped praying and, unlike the picture on the right, he was covered in cobwebs. The Question So I asked myself what I considered to be the obvious question. How does one pray without ceasing? I mean, we need to eat, right? And then we have to go to work and take showers lest we stinketh and all that other stuff that goes with having a life. Somehow I couldn't picture myself in the "Let us pray" mode without ceasing.

The Answer

As I pondered this question I thought about the things that we do without ceasing. The obvious ones were breathe and think. There are other bodily functions that happen without ceasing also, but let's not go there. Obviously praying had little to do with breathing, although one might find it hard to pray without breathing for any length of time.

Thinking however had more possibilities. After giving it some thought I asked God to make my every thought a prayer. This had the potential to be very dangerous because not all of my thoughts are pure, but I thought that these thoughts need God's attention anyway, so He may as well have the lot. 

The Result

When I asked God to make my every thought a prayer I had no idea what I was letting myself in for! I was suddenly very aware of being naked before God. All my closed closet doors were now sprung well and truely open. They weren't just ajar, they were wide open! It's not like God didn't know what was there, but the difference was that I had now given Him permission to have full access into every area of my life. It was scary, humbling and also very joyful.

It meant that God was now included in every aspect of my life and there was nowhere I went and nothing that I said or did that He was excluded from. He is in every part of my life every moment of every day and there is no greater joy than having Him with you 24/7.

My Part

Having God included in every part of my life is not a cop out or an easy way out. It is still needful for me to be actively involved in my relationship with Him. There are still times for specific prayer, although these happen when they happen rather than having a set time. There are times when I enter into His presence in an intimate way and there are times of thanksgiving and praise and worship. But these have all changed for the better since I opened my life up to Him by asking Him to make my every thought a prayer.

When I think of my friends and family, He is there in those thoughts and shares my heart.

Unfortunately there are still times when I stuff up. I have to ask for forgiveness more than I'd care to admit, but that seems to be all part of growing in God. It seems that the closer you get to God the more you become aware of your imperfections. That's not a bad thing, it just means that, as Scripture states, Phi 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,

He is my closest friend and it is wonderful to be able to include Him in everything. He always inspires me and so often when I don't know how to achieve something He shows me the way. This website is a very good example of that.

Be Encouraged

I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to do as I have done. Make your every thought a prayer. Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to clean up your thoughts first. Let Him help you with that. Take this wonderful opportunity to give Him full acces to your life and walk with you in every part of it. It can seem a bit scary to make that step, but God knows you better than you know yourself and He can be trusted with your life.

Let me pray for you

Father, I love you. Thank you for bringing this person here. I don't believe that they are here by accident, but rather that you have drawn them here by your Spirit. I pray that you will give them asurance of your awesome love for them and that it is through the blood of Jesus that we are able to come before you. Please give this person the courage to make their every thought a prayer, thereby letting you into every part of their life. Thank You Father for your awesome love and that You will walk with them and be closer than ever to them as a result of their willingness to be closer to You. We give you thanks and love you so very much.