Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Variations of the word “pray” are used over five hundred times in the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible. This includes “praying,” “prayer,” “prayed,” and all other forms of the word. It is a familiar word to Christians; I would venture to say that most of us would find it a familiar act, as well. We may even pray several times daily, both in private, personal prayer, and with our families, friends and other loved ones when we gather for fellowship or meals.
I’m sure it will not surprise you when I say that prayer is a frequent occurrence in our family. We pray over family meals and before bed. We utter a short and simple prayer every time we hear the fire whistle. (“Dear God, watch over the firefighters and whoever they’re going to help. Amen.”) We pray for our friends, family members and other loved ones every time we hear of a need. I suspect that our family is not completely unique in our prayer life.
Many of you, like my family and countless Christians around the world, pray often. How many of us, though, follow St. Paul’s above-cited advice for prayer? What does it mean to “pray without ceasing”? Is it even possible to do that?
Origen, a second-century Christian theologian wrote, “He prays without ceasing who joins his works to his prayer and prayer to his works.”
Did you ever commit to praying for even a relatively short period of time…say, ten minutes? I’ve done it. More accurately, I’ve tried to do it. Inevitably, my mind starts to wander and I catch myself reflecting on what I’m going to cook for dinner, the time and date of the next doctor appointment for someone in my family, what Sunday’s sermon topic might be, or any number of other distractions.
Practicing prayer as Origen describes allows us the freedom of understanding that the things which we might identify as “interruptions” to our prayer life are actually worthy of lifting to God in the midst of our prayers. We can, in fact, use them to direct our prayer life.
Every ounce of food that makes it to my family’s dinner table comes to us from God’s provision; I can thank God for that grace even before I prepare the meal, not simply when we sit down to eat it. Medical appointments offer me the opportunity to pray for those who provide such care for us, as well as the health of the person whose appointment is approaching. Sermon thoughts, of course, can be offered to God as I ask for direction, guidance, or wisdom as I seek to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection to the congregation I have been called to serve. This is what it means to join our works to our prayer and our prayer to our works.
This is also, I believe, what prayer without ceasing looks like in daily life. Ceaseless prayer is not endless hours spent on our knees with our heads bowed down. It is not a heavy burden for us to bear. It is a life centered in God so that all of our day-to-day concerns become prayers lifted to our Lord. It is also an ever-present reminder of the Savior’s love and grace.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Beth
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