Praying Constantly: The why and how.
Why?
Why should we pray constantly? Isn't praying each morning and evening more than enough?
Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
In the first letter to the Thessalonians Paul makes it quite clear. He instructs them not to pray each Sunday or even everyday but constantly.
With all prayer and supplications, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit, To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy one. (Ephesians 6:18)
Then again in his letter to the Ephesians Paul instructs them to pray at every oportunity.
These two simple verses show us that we are really called to pray constantly.
How?
Now comes the hard part. How in the world are we supposed to pray constantly. We have a million other things to do during the day. It seems like all we can do to set aside a few minutes each morning for prayer. Praying constantly really does not sound possible.
Praying constantly does not mean siting in a church all day or sacraficing all of our other responsibilities. I feel that the process of praying constantly has two parts, praying with our actions and quick prayers throughout the day.
Mother Teresa can give us a lot of guidence about praying with our actions.
“Prayer in action is love, love in action is service.” (Mother Teresa)
“Prayer does not demand that we interrupt our work, but that we continue working as if it were a prayer.” (Mother Teresa)
If our actions made out of love and dedicated to the Lord they are a prayer. Something as simple as doing the dishes can be a prayer when it is done out of love for my family who will use the dishes. I can either complain about this chore and resent the fact that we don't have a dishwasher or I can rejoice in the opportunity to serve my family. I can either rush through my lesson planing or I can I take pride in my work, dedicate it to the Lord and create a great lesson out of love for my students. With all of our daily actions we can choose to turn them into a prayer or have them just be another burden on our lives.
Another way that we can pray constantly is by saying quick silent prayers at various point throughout the day. This can be as simple as saying a quick prayer when you pass an accident on the highway or saying a quick prayer of thanksgiving when you pull into your driveway each evening. While these may only last a few seconds, I feel they are instrumental in keeping me connected to the Lord throughout my busy day.
Some practical tips for praying constantly:
-Pray every time you get into your car for a safe trip.
-After you have a conversation with a friend, coworker, family member, of complete stranger say a quick prayer for that person.
-Make praying before all meals a habit. We eat a lot throughout the day so this will remind us to talk to the Lord a lot throughout the day.
-Smile at someone, say an extra thank you, give a complement, bring a little joy into someone's day.
-As soon as you realize you are frustrated with something (ex. lost on the highway, can't find your keys, burnt dinner) say a quick prayer for your frustration.
-Act out of love. If you are going to do or say something that is not out of love don't.
It is hard. It is very easy to go though our busy day and not think about the Lord even once. It takes practice, lots of practice. There are times when I realize that I have not prayed all day (or even all week). But you can't give up. Just ask the Lord for help and keep trying. It is hard but it will become easier with time. The more we pray the more praying becomes a regular part of our day.
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