Pray without Ceasing

As far as I can remember our daughter has been a profound thinker. When she was about five or six, she asked me, "Mom, doesn't the Bible say pray without stopping?" And does it also say, "Don't repeat yourself when you pray? " How do you manage to do both?

I asked for some time to think about that before answering her.

But it wasn't until I began seeking God in quiet that I could finally grasp the concept myself.  I was blown away by the intimate relationship that developed.  Prayer became more than just a few minutes of voicing my requests.  It became an endless two-way conversation that overflowed beyond my time in devotions.  

pray without ceasing,...(1 Th. 5:17 NKJV)

Ceasing simply means without an ending.

The critical component, however, was the relationship.

I can illustrate.

Over the years, I have acquired many contacts on my iPhone contact list.  But there are only a select few whom I have intimate relationships with- my sisters, for instance.  Our text conversations don’t exactly have an ending.  We just pick up where we last left off.  I don’t have to reinitiate the discussion with a  “Hello, how are you” greeting or close the conversation with a “Talk to you later.”   

Also, It doesn't matter what time of day it is.  We never shy away from texting each other because it's too late at night or too early in the morning.  We just continued on as if our conversation had never ended.  

Likewise, an intimate relationship with the father fosters the same two-way conversation without ending.  

Every time I immerse myself in the Word, the Holy Spirit picks up where we last left off.  Every time I bow my head in prayer, I respond to what he has been teaching me that day.  But it doesn't entirely end right there.  I know that my thoughts can effortlessly return to our conversation at any given moment of the day, and He will soon respond by bringing to memory scriptures I have previously overlooked.  This can only occur with intimacy.