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June 2, 2016

Pray Without Ceasing

18 Comments/ 2878/ 0

Pray without ceasing. — 1 Thessalonians 5:17

There are days when prayer comes very easily to me and other days when it just seems as if I am farther away from God than I want to be.  To say that my prayer life is inconsistent at times is an understatement.

I have always prayed.  I know that God is a part of my life and ever present.  But sometimes I find myself craving a two way communication with God and all I hear is silence.  I realize that most people do not “hear” God speak to them in a voice like a human conversation but some days when I am trying hard to understand happenings in my life and in those around me I find myself wishing that there was a voice that just would give me direction and comfort. Silence is sometimes the best answer to my prayers as well.

Silence can mean many things.

Not now.

It’s not the best thing for you.

It is a selfish prayer.

In My time.

Sit back and really look at what you are praying for.

My sister gave me a neat book along with some Protestant Prayer Beads.  The book A Bead and A Prayer by Kristen E. Vincent is designed to allow Protestants insight and instruction on using  a  rosary that she has developed to enrich prayer life.  I was reminded of it this past week when my friend Ann asked me if I had heard of it.  I dug it out of the basket where I had tucked it in a cleaning frenzy awhile back and rediscovered that it was something that I really want to use to enhance my prayer life.

A prayer book, prayer beads and all the devotional materials in the world will not change my prayer life.  As with anything that matters it is all about just doing it and developing a routine, a pattern and yes – a relationship with my God that will make my prayer life more comfortable and meaningful.

Do you have any prayer “rituals” that you would like to share?

The danger with us is that we want to water down the things that Jesus says and make them mean something in accordance with common sense; if it were only common sense, it was not worth while for Him to say it. The things Jesus says about prayer are supernatural revelations.  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

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18 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. Tony Conrad
    June 02, 2016 at 08:19 am

    I still have a long way to go in my faith walk but one thing that helped me was realizing I didn’t have to have the perfect prayer or have things worded just right. Praying became much easier when I started considering God as the friend he really is and started talking to him just as I would any other friend. No more “Dear God, I come to you…” now it’s “Hey God, it’s me. What’s up? You already know what’s up with me but can we talk about it anyway?”

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:44 pm

      I agree– my prayers are often more casual and personal than others are and then at other times I do the more “respectful Father ” type of prayer. I guess it kind of depends on my mood and what is going on but I do consider it a personal relationship so the friend conversations make a lot of sense at times sprinkled with a lot of respect and awe of course. Thanks for the comment, Tony!

      Reply
  2. Marci B
    June 02, 2016 at 08:26 am

    Oh gosh. I am so with you when you say your prayer life is inconsistent. Mine has been very lacking in the past several weeks and each morning I wake up and say, why? I don’t know. It bothers me. But I love Tony’s idea above. Maybe I should give that a try….

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:42 pm

      I love Tony’s idea as well. I have some of the wisest readers!

      Reply
  3. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    June 02, 2016 at 09:03 am

    I start my morning by reading two devotionals and then launching into prayer. Oftentimes I am saying the same prayers, sometimes adding names, other times deleting. I also find myself spontaneously going to God in prayer whenever it’s needed.

    Like you, and probably most everyone, I don’t pray often enough.

    And I’m trying to remember to praise and thank God rather than always requesting.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:42 pm

      Perfect way to start the day. I utter the same prayers a lot but I guess God knows what is on my heart if they are the same prayers, right? I am pretty good at thanking God but need to keep working on the asking for forgiveness and guidance part. Sometimes I act like I have it all figured out and that is just not true!

      Reply
  4. Marla
    June 02, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    No rituals, sort of send up dialogue in my head all day…. Like you, sometimes I long for that clear answer in the form of a voice.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:40 pm

      Got you====the daily all day dialogue is a good thing and I agree that it is a good way to keep the prayer life going. The clear answers come at times for me but I need to listen more intently. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. josh
    June 02, 2016 at 01:15 pm

    When I moved away from my home town, I had one friend who was always mad. I should’ve called sooner, I should be emailing more, why was it so late when I called. etc. etc. Pretty soon every time I talked to this dude it was a complete freakin’ lecture. I stopped contacting him and started ignoring his calls. My other friend I didn’t talk to for 6 years l didn’t email or call him once. When I saw him 6 years later he said to me, “you know, I’m still your boy, right?” “I’ll always have your back.” I’d like to think that God is more like that. Maybe some time has passed since you last talked, but he’s always happy to hear from you, he’s still your boy, and has your back.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:39 pm

      You know what? This is exactly what I needed to read and I like to think that that is exactly the way God is and I think it is. HE is always there no matter how lacking my prayer life is and He will always be there . Your analogy is perfect and I think I am going to be remembering it for a long time.

      Reply
  6. Gibber
    June 02, 2016 at 08:34 pm

    Prayer is one thing that’s always come easy to me but I totally get what you mean by wanting to have a two way conversation. I so wish I could see him in person and just sit and chat, make sense of so many things that just don’t make sense.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:38 pm

      Exactly. I believe my prayer is very natural and more of a conversation most days but there are times when I allow distractions and other things to block my prayer and that is what frustrates me. Thanks for your thoughts—as always they inspire me.

      Reply
  7. Rorybore
    June 02, 2016 at 09:53 pm

    That’s one of the best things about my yoga practice. At the close, traditional yogi’s usually say “namaste” and follow with meditation. I take that time to be my moments of daily gratitude. I just sit quiet and sometimes all I can really think is just how thankful I am. Other times I really need to pray for that perfect peace to come and give my mind some rest. I value these few minutes as much as I do the physical exercise.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:37 pm

      I love this. Thank you for sharing. I need to count my blessings even more every day. There are so many.

      Reply
  8. Katybeth
    June 02, 2016 at 10:55 pm

    I think of prayer as something I am doing constantly…praying is a part of my fabric. And not all of them are “good prayers” some are just angry unhappy whiney prayers. In my humble non religious but spiritual opinion God isn’t sitting in judgement of what we want or don’t want or can or can’t have or if someone should or shouldn’t be healed or helped….God always wants what we want and the answer is always yes. It’s complicated. I know. I can’t explain it very well…but my god isn’t judging our prayers and he is talking by his actions and what we manifest in our lives. From watching you…I think god is talking to you loud and clear… I also try to remember when I hurt for others that they may have chosen a different path and have a different agreement with god—and he helping them fulfill what they need to do on earth. i ramble, tonight. But I comment! ♥

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:36 pm

      And this is why I love you, Katybeth. You have the perfect way of putting it all into perspective and sharing what is on your heart and you are so right. I agree that God does not sit in judgment and I think I understand what you are saying . It is complicated but I think we just do what we can do, hear what we can hear and act when we can act as we feel we should. You said it well and I really appreciate you writing your thoughts for me.

      Reply
  9. Sonia
    June 03, 2016 at 12:33 am

    I pray continually, throughout my day. I have found in my prayer life that when it seems my prayers are just hitting the ceiling and falling back down, it is because I am blocking the communication some how. My heart isn’t in it, maybe I’m just rushing through on my way, talking to the Lord but in a hurry up kind of way, not waiting for any response, or maybe my prayers are just being repetitious instead of authentic. I try to be more conscious of my prayers. After all, when praying, we are communicating with the All Mighty God of all.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 03, 2016 at 10:34 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on this, Sonia. I love your answer and I agree—blocking the communication is my big stumbling block and it is ME and not God. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. You always inspire me.

      Reply

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