Praying without Ceasing!

"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) is a verse that puzzles us always.  Did Jesus pray nonstop?  The Bible says (Luke 2) that Jesus was a carpenter, helping out his father before being baptized by John in the Jordan River.  Indeed this work must have prevented Jesus from continuous prayer, yet this Bible verse challenges us to pray continuously, to cover every moment with prayer.  When we are called to live everyday lives, how is it possible to pray without ceasing?  That is the question we have to answer today.  While working in HTL, Chennai, I used to drive to work whenever the car was available.  One day I was driving to work with a distressed heart.  Sitting at the wheel, you feel like it is a private space!  While I stopped at a red light, I turned around and saw a man gazing at my face with a shocked expression!  That was when I realized that I had been praying with tears running down my cheeks!  That is praying without ceasing!

The Bible does not teach us to withdraw from the world, live in seclusion, and meditate about God.  The biblical mandate for every believer is to be salt of the earth and light dispelling darkness!  Prayer does not have to be asking for something.  It need not be with arms stretched out all the time.  Prayer need not be only from behind locked doors alone.  Early morning quiet time, corporate prayers, and family prayers are different.  What God expects us to do when He says 'pray without ceasing' is talk to God all the time!  It can simply be thanking Him from our heart for what He has already done or bringing our heartaches before Him. Prayer is merely a conversation with God.  We can talk to Him even from a bus or while cooking.  Perhaps this is what the psalmist meant when he declared, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praises will continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1).

My friend, the good news is that it is possible to pray without ceasing and do so without making any significant changes to your schedule or time commitments.  It is about shifting our thought process and turning everyday moments into prayer sessions.  Talk to Jesus the way you would talk to a friend, every moment of the day!

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