Pray without ceasing

PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING  

 

I was studying Luke 18 this morning, the section that is written about 'a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.' Jesus spoke about how the persistent petition of the widow moved the judge to answer her and rule in her favour.

 

Jesus was speaking to the need for his disciples/children to do likewise. In a nutshell

-Be persistent

-Don't give up.

 

Paul spoke about continual prayer when speaking to the people of Collossae in 

1 Thessalonians 5:17

He said 

'pray continually'

 My thoughts went to considering what these two scriptures were saying about both persistence in prayer and being constantly in an attitude of prayer. What does this mean in the practical, day to day choices I make?

 

Below is a powerful commentary on the topic that I got from Internet research at 'gotquestions.org' 

 

For Christians, prayer should be like breathing. You do not have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and essentially forces you to breathe. That is why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we are born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual atmosphere where God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our lives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer.

Unfortunately, many believers hold their "spiritual breath" for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is that every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, to be fully functional. (Emphasis mine)

It is easier for Christians to feel secure by presuming on—instead of depending on—God's grace. Too many believers become satisfied with physical blessings and have little desire for spiritual ones. When programs, methods, and money produce impressive results, there is an inclination to confuse human success with divine blessing. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help will be missing. Continual, persistent, incessant prayer is an essential part of Christian living and flows out of humility and dependence on God.

 

After reading this, a song called 'this is the air I breath' started playing over and over again in my mind. It was such a soothing experience, that  I will adopt this song to remind me of constantly, continually being in an attitude of prayer. If you love hymns as I do, you may also like to adopt 'sometimes a light surprises a Christian when he sings' as your song to remind you to 'breath prayer'

Do you have a favourite song that ushers you into the Lord's presence? Do share.