Pray without ceasing (6)

God longs for continuous communion with his children.
In fact, this was "the joy set before him" for which Jesus endured the cross (Heb. 12:2).

And surely there is no higher joy for us than perpetual communion with Almighty God!
This is, after all, the essence of eternal life; to know God (Jn. 17:3).

Is that even possible here on earth? What would that look like? Should we strive for it?


Our primary example of a life of prayer like this, naturally, is Jesus himself.

In Luke 5:16 we read that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed,
and in fact Jesus taught us to pray in private, saying in Matthew 6:6:

Close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.    

And Jesus also encourages corporate prayer in Matthew 18:19, saying:

If two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for,
it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.                                        


James and Paul echo the thoughts of Jesus in advocating regular corporate prayer:

James tells the church to pray for one another that they might be healed (Js. 5:16).

And Paul tells the Thessalonians to pray continually, giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:16-17);
tells the Philippians to present their requests to God in every situation (Phil. 4:6);
and tells the Colossians to devote themselves to prayer (Col. 4:2).

     

These challenging exhortations from Paul are manifestly carried out in the early church,
and we see the believers praying often and in many different circumstances throughout Acts:

They prayed in the temple in Acts 3:1,
gathered in houses to pray in Acts 12:12,
and gathered on the beach to pray in Acts 21:5;
Cornelius prayed alone in his house in Acts 10:30,
and Paul and Silas prayed in prison at night in Acts 16:25.

In summary, to follow the teachings of Jesus, Paul, and James,
and to imitate the lives of Jesus, the apostles, and the early church,
we must live with our "eyes always on the Lord" (Ps. 16:8).


What does this look like? After all, clearly Jesus and the saints did other things than just prayer.

What seems to work for me is to have four types of regular prayer in my life:

a. A few times of corporate prayer every week (though this is very situational)
b. A daily time set aside for 'bible-open prayer' (though I often fail at this one)
c. Several shorter periods of prayer through each day (i.e. walking to the shops, eating snacks, ...)
d. Loads of quick-fire prayers in all situations (though I can neglect this one too)


Here are a few other ways we can learn to commune with God 'without ceasing':

1. Imitate Jesus by withdrawing into nature for a couple of hours; maybe take a bible and music
2. Find some friends to regularly pray with and begin to create a culture of spontaneous prayer
3. Pray "bullet prayers", i.e. just a sentence or two, regularly throughout the day
4. Find a few prayers in the bible and think of a regular situation you can pray them in
5. Read relevant books, e.g. Prayer - Keller; the autobiography of.... - Muller

May God lead you into continual communion with himself today,
Jeff :)