Billy Graham told Jerry Jenkins that the Bible says to pray without ceasing, so he does. I want to be him.
I pray on the way to school pretty consistently. When I don’t, I’m a witch teacher. When i do, I say things that I can’t believe such wisdom came out of my mouth, so must be a God thing. In the summer I try to pray at breakfast, but summer tends to be unpredictable to the max. I pray when people ask me to though, right then, so I don’t forget.
However, without ceasing means all the time, 24/7, no time off for good behavior. I cannot claim that, which could be the difference between me and Billy Graham, well one of them.
So how does a person pray without ceasing? You can’t just think and call it a prayer, right? I am not sure, but I suspect it’s about practice. I’ve noticed that the older I get the more I send up prayers of the moment. You know, like “Lord, please help me get this water out of the bottom of my shed” or “Lord, how do I treat this homeless person as a neighbor?” or “Thank You, Lord for not letting that maniac hit my car.” So maybe if I pay attention and live in the moment I’m in, I’ll get better at talking with Him about those moments.
I bet that, if God does what I have seen Him do in the past many times, that if I can get this praying moment by moment thing down, I will see huge changes in my life. For instance, maybe prayer will remind me to orbit around Him instead of thinking that He, and everyone else, orbits around me. Holy cats, if I listen while I’m praying, He might even have time to suggest things He’d like me to get involved doing.
Maybe I’ll start a club, or a support group, for people who want to pray without ceasing. Wait, where did that come from?
“Hello, my name is Jane, and I’m a sometimes prayer.”
“We love you, Jane”
“I have to confess, I didn’t pray Tuesday, Friday or Saturday.”
“OK, sit down with your sponsor and get after it.”
You know, something like that. That is all for today.
Tell me, what do you know about praying without ceasing?
