
Pray without ceasing. 1 THESSALONIANS 5:17
HOW DO WE PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
Have you ever asked yourself... "How can I pray without "ceasing or stopping?" I surely have! And, I didn't think it possible when I first started my prayer life.
I had to ask the Lord, "How do I pray with my toddlers running around, and keeping a close eye on them? How do I pray when I'm doing all the household chores, grocery shopping, or cooking, working part time and everything else
most people have to do?"
GOD ALWAYS MAKES A WAY
Saying we are going to pray is so much "easier said then done!" It took time but God showed me that I had to "set a time" just
like I would do for any other important thing that is on my
"things to do" list.
Slowly I began to realize that by "setting a regular time of prayer," did make life easier. However, there were times when and emergency came up or my children needed me that I had to set myself... "a backup time" to pray.
It doesn't mean that I stopped doing my daily tasks -- I just prioritized them more carefully when my boys were little! Now that they are grown and on their own... I may still get busy, or have interruptions, but I still have that "back up time" period.
LEARNING TO SEE MORE CLEARLY
I also learned to look at my life differently and found I could pray outside of my scheduled prayer time. Some examples would be:
1. When I hear babies cry, I will whisper gently, "Lord be with that child and his parents, and be with the babies in St. Jude's Children's Hospital and be with the children in all of our Children's Hospitals."
2. When I hear sirens seemingly racing to an emergency situation, I'll softly ponder, "Lord be with that officer or fire company as they travel, be with those that need them and keep them all safe."
3. My husband was a Social Worker, I was a nurse and volunteered at several places where we both saw "hurting people!" As I would work on a patient, or counsel at the Victim's Crime Counsel, I would often pray to myself, for their healing, their pain and the traumatic circumstances they had been through.
Just look around wherever you may happen to be and
I'm sure you'll find someone or something that you may say
a silent prayer for.
MOMENTS OF SPEECHLESS THOUGHTS
I learned to take moments of communication with the Lord, calmly and silently. No one other than the Lord, could hear
me voicing my prayers... but I learned it is possible to
pray "without ceasing" especially in today's world, where
so many are hurting!
My silent prayers are quiet and softened occasions, between the Lord and myself. And, I find them quite helpful to me and satisfying to my soul... knowing that only Jesus hears the
"Cries of my Heart!"
LOOK AROUND YOUR PART OF THE WORLD
There is a world around us that needs our prayers and although we can't always be in our "prayer closets," we can be in brief periods of communication with our Lord and Savior
throughout our days.
Will YOU take time to pray for the needs set before
you today?
BELOW:
A prayer for you...
And,
MUSIC: Open the Eyes of My Heart - Christopher Duffy
The story of a child named Christopher born pre-maturely and addicted to Oxy-Cotin and Cocaine... Singing for the Lord our God! There is worth in EVERYONE... if we take time to not
only see it -- but to PRAY... even if we don't
know them!