Unceasing Prayer

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'Pray without ceasing.' 1 Thess 5:17

18 August 2007, my daughter Becky wrote something on prayer: I tend to hang out a lot online and have become a member of a number of prominent message boards. One particular message board struck me, it started a little thread for prayer requests. The introduction of which is as follows,

"I am placing this thread here as a place for Christian players to request prayer. I plan to check the thread regularly, and pray for the requests. I encourage others to also pray in response to the prayer requests. I'll make the first request. Please help me pray for the wisdom, knowledge, and strength to be a better servant of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the one true God. I hope that God is glorified through this thread." - Shaper Geneson

Although the thread itself isn't really popular, there have been a number of prayer requests from people and it's heartening to see prayer used to help others. 

I check the message board daily to pray for friends that I know and quite a  few people that I don't even know their real names. I figured, God knows who I'm talking about, even if I don't. I started to have had online friends who had troubles and told me about them. Seeing as I can't get out to Canada or Switzerland or America in the blink of an eye to give them hugs or advice directly, my best way of helping is to pray for them. I'll tell them that I'm doing it and pray with them over the microphone or just over chat in a chat room. 

God knows best, and it's almost surprising how much comfort people can take in prayer. And the prayers are answered, sometimes in very specific ways, I get feedback from friends about it. This keeps me going, even if I do feel embarrassed praying over a microphone for someone that I haven't even met. In fact, I've had people tell me that they've never been prayed for before. 

I cannot imagine not being prayed for. Praying for others and being prayed for is something I remember from way back when. I remember waking up early in mornings sometimes, lying in bed, I can see Papa or Mummy kneeling by my bedside praying for me. It is something comforting, knowing that God has my back and that I'm not the only one struggling to pray for myself - that other people care as well. To me, prayer is the most powerful tool that we Christians have. I mean, to be able to talk with God? That's pretty important stuff! 

I recall that one pastor in my church once observed that in Jerusalem, they rock when they pray. Why? Because it's GOD that they're talking to when they pray. Why shouldn't they pray with all their heart and soul, mind and body? It's GOD. 

So, take some time off sometime today and do some praying. I generally do every day before I sleep. I take time to tell God what I've done today, thank him for the funny addresses (simple pleasures that keep me going) in my work as well as for the many many blessings he has given me, I thank him for dying on the cross for my sins. I pray for my family, for friends that I know the names of, for friends I don't know the names of and for people I don't know from Adams. Then I pray for myself. Then, I thank God for listening to it all and being patient enough. 

Praying really reminds me of everything that I have to thank and praise him for. The words come out easily. Sometimes, I have so much to say, I fall asleep saying it. But, it's a good thing, because I've touched base with God.

So, take some time now, today, whenever... and just sit down with your family, or someone that you know, or someone that you don't even know but you've been listening to (My pastor even prays for complete strangers he's met on the bus!) ... and pray. Because it's important.  

Lionel adds: We could make our prayers instinctive as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, 'Pray without ceasing.' But how do we pray without ceasing? 24/7? I think the answer is to try weave prayer into our everyday life and routine. To some extent Becky has weaved prayer into her IT routine. We are now learning to have Zoom prayer sessions. 

We can also establish a ubiquitous prayerful attitude for all our waking moments. Brother Lawrence observed that it is a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. Henri Nouwen wrote, 'By the discipline of prayer we are awakened and opened to God, who enters into our heartbeats and our breathing, into our thoughts and emotions, our hearing, seeing, touching and tasting. We give ourselves over to this incredible Presence, who takes possession of all our senses. By doing this, our unceasing thinking is converted into unceasing prayer, moving us from a self-centred monologue to a God-centred dialogue.' Ref 1

Dallas Willard noted that 'Prayer is never just asking nor is it merely a matter of asking for what I want. Prayer is a matter of explicitly sharing with God my concerns. And of course he is concerned about my concerns and, in particular my concerns should coincide with His. It is the inevitable result of someone who understands God and is actually living interactively with Him.' Ref 2

The song, The Prayer, popularised by Andrea Borcelli and Celine Dion celebrates this interactive living with God, that resonates in our prayers.

I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go

And help us to be wise in times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way

Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe

With such a prayerful 24/7 encapsulation of our lives, we become receptacles of the divine through the pathway of prayer.

 

Becky and Lionel 

Ref 1: Henri Nouwen. You are the Beloved, Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living. Hodder and Stoughton, 2017

Ref 2: Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy, Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. HarperCollins, 1997

1st Published on 18 Aug 2007