Pray without ceasing!
1 Thessalonians 5, 17
Sometimes it seems as if praying would be a must or to be hard work. You want to pray for half an hour, but you can‘t think aof anything, or the thoughts go wandering, or you even fall asleep. Then of course you have a guilty conscience, because we wanted to pray, and it went wrong.
If the boss calls, then keep it as brief as possible. After all he is the boss and we do not want to stand out negatively. It is a somewhat tense situation and we do not behave as naturally as if we are with our best friends.
Check out your prayer style. What words do we need? How do we express ourselves? Are we talking naturaly, as with best friends or family? Or does our language become stilted and solemn? Or we try to convince God of something and try to persuade Him?
Prayer should be the most relaxing thing in the world. Just as we talk in a relaxed way about everything with our best friends. God is there, directly next to me, he hears me, knows my thoughts and feelings, and he wants to talk to me; – not only about big things, but also about all the little things of the day
I need time in which I only pray, my quiet time with God. That has different lengths and best for me it is when I walk. Without telephone and without a dog or the children. There nothing distracts me. I do not need to talk constantnly, but turn my thoughts to him and worship him in the quietness. Often he then begins to speak into my thoughts (hard to explain; perhaps you experience it differently?). This prayer refreshes me and brings new ideas.
Then I pray constantly, constantly talking with Him. When I work with people, I also talk with them. Mostly in thoughts and quiet, but the contact with God is always there. When I’m alone, or drive a car, I can also speak out loud. But not always, because listening is more important to me as talking.
My secret language helps me very much. This prayer language is wonderful for me. The Holy Spirit gives me the syllables and words and I just speak them out loud. Sometimes the spirit explains to me, what is being prayed. These are completely new aspects and ideas for me! Sometimes he gives me solutions to problems that I would never have come to alone. Sometimes he shows me people in a whole new light. It’s really exciting, these conversations with God.
So, relaxed and still, we can pray without ceasing, without pausing. He is there!
Thank you, Jesus, You are there! You, my best friend, always hear even if I pray quietly. You know every sigh, see each little tear and are compassionate. You are my helper, my comforter, my strength! You give me courage, direction and solutions! It’s wonderful to have constant fellowship with you. You are my everything, my King and God.
Todays bible reading : Psalm 98; 1-9