“…pray without ceasing.” 
 - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

When I was a child, I was taught how to pray by my parents; and honed the “craft” every night before bed with my mom at my side. My dad was a minister, so church attendance and participation were part of life, praying before meals was expected, and praying at special events, parties, etc. was a regular thing. 

I remember thinking that all of this attention to praying was sort of silly. 

Early on in my church and Sunday school attendance, I was taught that God knew every thought I had before I had it. So, why pray? If God already knew everything I thought, wasn’t I already praying whenever I had a thought? Why fold my hands, kneel beside my bed, and repeat myself? It didn’t make much sense to my immature little brain.  Then, as I grew older, I heard in sermons and read for myself that the Holy Spirit prayed for me, knowing what I needed when I did not (see Romans 8:26-27). 

Again, I was baffled by all this attention to praying. 

As I have grown more mature in life, especially on my spiritual journey, I understand the importance of (and have benefited a great deal from) unceasing outreach to God through prayer. Without really being able to explain it, I can attest to the comfort and relief prayer brings me when I’m stressed, as well as the clarity and faith that increase within me when I feel like I’m on the right track. 

While I still believe that the on-going daily thoughts that I have (that God receives and responds to) keep me connected and are part of what it looks like to pray without ceasing, I also know they do not serve me well as my only communication with God. My commitment to sitting with, talking to, and especially listening to God throughout the day, illustrates my faithfulness to God’s Word, God’s promises, and God’s status as the most important relationship in my life. I believe that’s what Paul meant when his final instructions to his new friends in Thessalonica included the phrase, “…pray without ceasing.”