Can You Hear Me Now? Pray Continually
Pray continually.
These two simple words come from 1 Thessalonians 5:17. In fact, they are the whole verse! It might be the easiest verse in the Bible to memorize, but certainly not the easiest one to put into practice.
In the 17th century, there lived a monk known as Brother Lawrence. He became famous by trying to live every moment with an awareness that he was in the presence of God. Of course, Brother Lawrence spent most of his life working in the kitchen of a monastery. I’ve never been in a monastery’s kitchen, but I bet it’s a little more peaceful than what most of us face each day.
The reality of our day to day lives seems like it is almost too difficult to pray continually. In an average day, how many minutes do you think you might actually have an awareness of the presence of God?
If the idea of “praying continually” seems so difficult, do you think maybe our understanding of what prayer is might need to be revisited?