For many years, the idea of praying continually has been a mystery to me. Taken literally, the monks in silent monasteries have it right and I do not. Taken in the command to practice that spiritual discipline, it seems to lack something. So lately, I've been thinking on this verse and have reached a new level of understanding about it. I may be wrong but its what I've got today.
I have decided that in addition to prayer being a line of communication between you and God, it is also a practice of love and relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It seems that lately, I must pray continually just to keep up with what Satan is dealing out to us. We carry so much of our own stuff that we have to lay at the feet of Jesus - our hope and dreams, our fears and hurts, our praise and petitions. In addition to our own stuff, there are so many things going on around us that it seems that prayer is the only way to keep up with it. Satan is out to get us and we have to fight for each other. It can be those we know dearly, those we are acquainted with, or those we've never met but our hearts break for. I find that in prayer for others, it opens my eyes to truly see them. My heart is softened to their plights and my love for them grows. It makes me less selfish as I see them more. I know that God gifts us the chance to see them through His eyes when we lay them before His throne. I have been blessed to experience the gift of being prayed over and prayed for. Time to give back in love.
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1 comment:
Yes, I certainly do agree with you about prayers.
But if you will excuse my literalism for just a moment...the confusion can be easily cleared up by understanding the differences between continually and continuously. Continually means to happen frequently in intervals but continuously means without end. Continual rain can be tolerated but a continuous rain would flood the earth and drown us all.
Our communication with God should be continually in prayer, happening as often as we can throughout our lives. Even the monks could not keep up a continuous prayer eventually they have to stop to sleep.
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