Pray without ceasing

Paul writes in First Thessalonians 5:17 to, "Pray without ceasing."

Interesting phrase.

Pray without ceasing.

Don't stop praying.

Don't stop communicating with God.

Let me tell you what prayer is not.

Prayer is not a monologue where one person does all of the talking.

It is not a ritual where we must say things in the right order.

It is not a chore to get out of the way like brushing our teeth before going to bed.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:6, "Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace."

Prayer is not a nice opening, like the National Anthem at a game, really nice, but it has nothing to do with what happens on the field afterwards.

Prayer is not a rabbit's foot you pull out and rub when things are tough.

Pray without ceasing.

Have you ever noticed that Paul doesn't write, "breathe without ceasing." Why? Because we do that naturally. We don't breathe when we feel like it. We don't say to ourselves or to others, "I'm not really into oxygen today," and stop breathing. YOU WOULD DIE!

We don't get frustrated and say, "I'm not going to do that any more."

No, we breathe. We breathe. We breathe. And as a result we live. We live. We live. As we breathe, so should we pray.

For without a constant communication with God we die spiritually.

Pray without ceasing!