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Praying Without Ceasing

by Jerry Ousley
1/10/2009 / Christian Living

I've got a bad habit. I talk to myself - a lot. I realize it's considered by some as borderline to insanity but I do it anyway. Sometimes my thoughts flow more freely when I think out loud. I've had people look at me strangely when working on a project that requires a lot of concentration. I suppose that strange look is brought on because the more I concentrate the more I talk to myself.

However, often when I'm speaking out loud I am talking to someone. I'm talking to God. I know that because many times I'll start or end my sentence with "Lord." Now before you think I've fallen completely off the deep end, look at a single verse of scripture found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, that very simply says, "Pray without ceasing." That's the entire verse. It isn't out of context because where Paul put it in the scripture it's just kind of setting out there all by itself.

We could interpret that verse a couple of ways and I really don't think either of them is wrong. First of all we could take it to mean that once we begin praying for something or someone that we shouldn't stop. I realize that there are those who teach that once we've taken a matter to the Lord that we should leave it there, believe God's going to answer and never mention it again. But folks if we really have compassion for someone or something it will stay on our minds. I think the Lord is pleased if we are concerned enough to keep talking to Him about it.

The second interpretation could well be that we pray all the time. I know that if we go around talking to God with all the proper intonations, speaking with large and loud words people will think us to be a bit strange to say the least. But we don't have to do it that way. Did you know that God can hear your thoughts? It's true. He even knows what you're going to say before you say it. Think that one through.

I also realize that if we went around praying out loud all the time that we wouldn't have time to concentrate on anything else. We'd be pretty poor workers if all we did was talk all the time. I don't think that's what Paul meant by this interpretation of that statement.

I do think that as we grow in Christ and as our relationship with God is aged with time we can get to be old friends. I don't mean that in a disrespectful way at all. I believe God wants to be friends with us. I believe that we get to the point that unless we are specifically talking to another person our thoughts, including those some of us strange folks may speak out loud seemingly to ourselves, can be directed at God. During those times we gain knowledge, wisdom and well, sometimes we just get things worked out (or I do anyway).

I believe that God wants our prayer to be just as simple as that. He wants us to talk human; not some mumbo jumbo gibberish that doesn't really mean anything. It may sound good but it's worthless. God wants to know how we feel. He wants to get into our thoughts. He wants to permeate our total being. It can be praying without ceasing praying without stopping. Isn't that a wonderful thought?

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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