A Simple Encouragement

Paul Park, my little brother from my fraternity, wrote a quick facebook status the other day. It basically said that praying without ceasing is difficult, but it is worth it.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 gives us this short three word imperative: Pray without ceasing.

My day today has benefited from this very brief practical encouragement, and so it is my joy to pass it along. I am saddened for the amount of time that passes me in which I have little regard for God, times when I fail to pray. But Christ forgives my past, including my prayerlessness; Christ is in control of my future, so I need not worry; the only time in which I can do anything is this moment, and in this moment I can offer my heart up to God.

I think praying without ceasing would be impossible if it meant I am always talking. I need to do a lot of listening. But listening to God does not really mean listening for an audible voice. Of course, God can speak that way, but he primarily chooses to speak to us in other ways. I am reminded of something I read in "Think", when Piper encourages Christians to become good readers. His aim in that encouragement is to get us to become good readers of two things: 1) God's Word, and 2) the world around us. Are we studied readers of the Story that God is telling in his world?

Praying without ceasing will involve often lifting up prayers and petitions and thanksgivings; some will be heart-wrenching hour-long wrestling matches, some will be prolonged bursts of worship and joy, and very many of them will be short flairs interspersed all over our daily business. Praying without ceasing will also involve our listening to God's voice as he speaks to us, most especially through his Word, but also through what happens in the world, since he is sovereign over it. Let us practice God's presence. He really is there!

I think that Paul (my little bro) mirrors Paul (the Apostle) when he says that this type of prayer is worth it. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:7) This is a declaration of Christ's supreme worth. God is a person(s), and so we relate to God as to a person. To know him, the thing Paul values above everything else, we must talk to him.

Wherever you are, stop and talk to God. Maybe it is a time to ask forgiveness. Maybe it is a time to recount God's awesome deeds in your life. Maybe it is a time of great need. But no matter the situation, it is so incredibly worth it to go to God!