Day 21 | Non-stop Prayer

Reflection

If the shortest verse in English translations of the Bible is John 11:35 (‘Jesus wept’), 1 Thessalonians 5:16 and 17 must come second and third for verse brevity.

How do we understand verse 17’s simple and short instruction to pray continually? One translation is ‘pray without any unnecessary interval (time gap)’. I find that helpful – not unnecessarily cutting off the communication with our God.

So, if we’re never supposed to end our prayers or need to begin them again, how do we begin and end our personal prayers to God?

I’ve always been inspired by one particularly well-known Christian speaker who seems to always begin their prayers with, ‘And Lord…’ This might be grammatically weak but it’s theologically strong! To begin a prayer with ‘and’ seems to acknowledge an ongoing conversation before the official prayer started. This feels very close to Paul’s instruction ‘pray continually’.

For my part, I’ve found saying ‘amen’ at the end of my personal prayers unhelpful. Hear me out here. Saying ‘amen’ is biblical and is especially helpful for public prayers. It gives a chance for others to agree and collectively respond, ‘let it be so’. But many prayers in the Bible don’t end with ‘amen’.

In my private prayers, I tended to say ‘amen’ as if signalling an end to the dialogue with God – as though I was saying ‘bye for now, Lord’. Instead, now, I like to leave the prayer in mid-flow – signifying to myself that God stays with me. Having deliberately left the praying unfinished, I try to stay tuned in to Him throughout the rest of the day – wherever I work, rest, or play. This helps me with praying continually.

If confidence grows through consistency, consistent and continual prayer will surely grow our confidence. How might you find your own way of living up to Paul’s challenge to pray continually?

Responding in prayer

Thank you for the invitation of continual communion with You; help me never forget how amazing this is.

Lord, help my whole-life discipleship to be accompanied by whole-life prayer.

Lord, help me to stay in tune with You on my frontline today.