Pray Without Ceasing - The Crosswalk Devotional - March 27
Pray Without Ceasing
By Michelle Lazurek
Bible Reading:
“Pray without Ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Lord, help me.” This is what I recited to myself as I waited in the lab to have my blood drawn. This was part of the doctor's orders for some health challenges that I had been dealing with since the summer. I prayed again once I got my blood drawn and went home to work.
“Lord, I can't do this without you. I'm asking for complete and total healing for my body. Help my thyroid levels to raise to appropriate levels. Let my lab work come back normal. Allow me another day to serve you. Amen.”
I went about my day, checking items off my to-do list. As I sat down to dinner, I said grace. “Lord, thank you for this food. Thank you for this day. Thank you for another productive day. Let us be grateful for your provision. Amen.”
As I laid my head down on the pillow to go to sleep. Many thoughts went through my head. “Lord, help me to calm my racing thoughts. Please help me to put away the cares of the day. Please give me the rest I need to wake up refreshed tomorrow. Thank you for another day to serve you. Amen.”
I admit I never understood what praying without ceasing meant. Because my mind often wandered toward work and other responsibilities of raising children and being a wife, in addition to serving in my local church, my mind didn't always think about praying. I often went through the day starting my day off in prayer, only to lay my head down at the end of a long day and fall fast asleep.
Though I've matured over the years, I realized that praying without ceasing means stopping and asking the Lord for his presence in all aspects of my life. Whether it's my morning prayer time, praying for the requests of friends and family, saying grace, or asking God to give me restorative sleep to get me through the next day, it's all part of praying without ceasing.
If we're honest, we all need help in this area. Like me, we often skate through our days without a thought about the Lord. Many of us live our lives inviting God into what we're doing. However, praying without ceasing involves asking the Lord what he wants from our days. As we pray and ask God for his guidance, presence, and provision, we may find divine interruptions throughout our day.
For example, we may be focused on our lives, only to find a phone call from a frantic friend that makes us stop and pray for them and with them. We may deal with financial or health crises, needing God's guidance throughout the day, sometimes every hour, or even every minute.
When we must cling to Jesus because our only hope is in him, it may find us praying like never before. We may find our thoughts drifting toward crying out to the Lord throughout the day. This gives new meaning to what it means to pray without ceasing.
Analyze your thought life. Do you find you go throughout your day, skating through each activity, giving little or no thought to the Lord? Do you often invite God into your actions rather than ask him for guidance? When we yield our lives entirely to him, we may find he has a different agenda for us than our lofty to-do list. We may find we must cross off an important task to address God's agenda for the day.
These divine interruptions accomplish God's agenda: to glorify God and to live out our purpose and mission to serve him. When we shift our perspective from a selfish invitation into our lives to a complete yielding of our lives to the Lord, we may find our lives easier. We may not only have the time to help a needy friend but also have time to complete our to-do list in record time.
God promises that he will be faithful in bearing them when we cast our cares on him. Even if we must put off unimportant tasks that feel important to us, we know God is in control. When we live believing that God is our story's author, we pray without ceasing and cling to the hope with him every minute of every hour.
Father, let us be people who pray without ceasing. Let us invite you into our lives, rather than simply inviting you to care for us as we fulfill our agendas. In our efforts to make you Lord of our lives, let us not stop communicating with you throughout our days. Amen.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
How do you practice praying without ceasing?
How can you focus your mind more on God throughout the day?
Further Reading:
Matthew 7:11
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/TinnakornJorruang
