Read This: “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Think: When I was younger and I heard this verse, my first impulse was to think of Julius Caesar or Caesar Salads. I was all like, “Who are these people who are praying with salads?” It was a confusing time for me. But once I parsed through to the true intent of the verse, I was able to think about the idea behind that verse. And it scared me. To me, prayer was this all-encompassing act of service and devotion. It required me being appropriately dressed, in a holy place of some kind and at a minimum, it was to go on for 45 minutes. Maybe even an hour because that seemed like a good round number. And I couldn’t even consider opening my eyes throughout the whole thing. So you can understand why the act of praying was such an intimidating thing to me. The talking to God wasn’t so scary but it was more feeling like if I didn’t do it in just the right way, He wouldn’t listen and He might even get mad at me. “Look at him. He’s down there praying to Me and he’s already opened his eyes twice. Not to mention him zoning out and thinking about stuffed crust pizza for 45 seconds. I’m so mad right now” - God, probably, in regards to my prayers. But when I was a little older, I had a breakthrough. My youth minister talked about how prayer with God wasn’t supposed to be this ordeal of ritual. And it wasn’t something we had to do. It was something we got to do. He likened it to talking with a friend, only if that friend was also the master and creator of the universe, nbd. And this changed everything for me. Should prayer with God be given its proper respect? Absolutely! After all, you are talking to God. But don’t let the layers of what you think you’re supposed to do get in the way of what God wants most with us: fellowship. And don’t think of “pray without ceasing” as a task or a chore. Think of it as something we get to do. With or without Caesar Salads! Ask: What are some ways you get hung up on prayer? What keeps you from praying? Seek out someone whose prayer life you admire and ask them what they do and why it works. Pray: God, thank you so much for being willing to listen to me. As insignificant as I am and yet you still will talk with me. You even desire me to pray to you about my thoughts, worries and fears. How incredible that is, God and how incredible you are. I give thanks!
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 11:18:52 +0000
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