Pray Without Ceasing

In our lives we have the tendency to become so caught up in the monotony of life and all the pressures that surround us. Stress, though it causes pain, soon becomes a close friend in this journey. Torment rages our minds and tosses our thoughts like a ship in the midst of a hurricane. Pain fillets our hearts on this slab of an unfair life. We become used to these occurrences in our life as if they are just another unfortunate even on the road we travel. We begin to almost embrace them. And in the midst of our embracing them we lose sight of the goal that Christ has placed in our life. We soon stumble off track and focus on the pain of life rather than the joy that we are placed in. I’m not saying ignore the stress, tormenting trials, and pain for in those three things we find maturity and truly discover what God has for our lives. But we lose our focus on things that are happening to us here on this earth. But there is a remedy that I have discovered in the scriptures to battle this occurrence.

Paul exhorts us to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. This alone is a daunting task for anyone. We look at it with fear and the belief that this is impossible. But it is very possible for us in our lives. In my life there are moments where the pain is so great in my heart, the stress is bearing down on me, and my life feels as if the bowels of hell are tormenting it mercilessly. In these moments I find myself seeking things in life to relieve those emotions and raise me out of my depressed state and lift me to a whole new level. But these things only temporarily lift me out of my state of dread. I find myself within a small window of time back right where I started, feeling worse than before. But I read this verse. I felt dread almost in reading it feeling that it could never be accomplished. But I decided to try. I kept reminding myself when I would feel that pain in the pit of my stomach to pray.

It helped in ways that I never expected. It not only lifted my head, but it gave me hope. The pain seemed to disappear. And it wasn’t praying “O Holy and merciful father, thou art so great…etc.” I talked to God as if he was standing there. I voiced my frustrations, my anger, my pain. It was if a weight was lifting off of my chest as I talked to God as if I was talking to a friend. I try to do this every time it feels as if my heart is getting kicked and crushed. I used this time to really connect with God, and tell him what was going on and how I truly felt. I never held anything back, he already knew my heart, he knew exactly what was going on even without me telling him. And in my prayer a funny thing happened. It was something I never expected. In my walks or sitting down or driving the focus of the prayer left its focus of myself and my pain and turned slowly to praying for someone else or something else entirely. My focus was taken off on me and was turned to God.

We have a million things that are going on in our lives at any one time. Whether it is family issues, personal relationship issues, or even spiritual issues when we give them to God we are trusting him that he knows best. Its engrained in our very human nature to sit back and allow ourselves to try and control the situations. We think that our mortal, sinful, imperfect minds knows what is best for our life. We think that certain outcomes are exactly what we need to make us feel complete. But in trusting God we are showing him that he is in total control of this situation. He in His perfect timing will bring about the best result for us.

This idea of praying all the time goes beyond prayer and creates in us a spirit that Christ desires of us. Humility. This word is scary in itself, but in trusting God we are penitent, we kneel before Him humbly asking him to take care of this situation for us. We basically are taking the “reigns of the horse” out of our hands and to take control. This is an unnerving experience in itself. Even when we are so sure of something and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is Gods will we still need to let God be God and be in control of it all. When we do this we are for sure in for a crazy wild ride that may take us to places and experiences that we never even imagined could occur before.

This is not some cure all for life. You may pray and feel relieved and in the next hour it comes back. But don’t stop praying. God is not one to forget, he has our number, he knows us by name and he cares for everything in our lives no matter the significance of it. There are times where I pray short prayers all the time to help me get through just one hour of my day. But telling God he is in control and that I trust him to do what is best for my life frees me to follow Him and put my focus on Him and not the situation.

I spoke to a friend I respect about this and he offered an interesting perspective. He asked me if I thought that this situation was being allowed by God to bring me to a place where I would grow and learn. The army has a saying that pain is weakness leaving the body. Could this situation I am in be there in my life to help not only myself grow closer to Him but the other side as well? I know for a fact that it is. And the outcome may just yet be what I want but for the time right now I trust that God has placed me here for a specific reason. I know this because of the verses following as well as preceding. The entire passage states, “Rejoice in everything. Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.” Giving thanks is easy when times are good and the sun is shining and the pain is not there. But so many times we lose sight of what God is trying to work in our lives when everything is “hunky-dory.” God sometimes needs to bring us back to a place of submission to break us and mold us into who he wants us to be. Remembering constantly that He is in control and He is the one molding us and it is not us trying to “fix” ourselves. It is Him working in us.

But we also need to give thanks in all circumstances. Now this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where it really sucks and really hurts sometimes, because we are humans. Who in their right mind gives thanks when times suck? We as believers need to be willing to do this solely for the fact that this is Gods will for our lives. Even Christ was lead into the desert to be tested. This time was no walk in the park. I had to be very painful and even difficult at times. For one it was a desert. Who likes being in a desert? No one. But it is in the desert where we are without water, without shelter, without the comforts that we enjoy and are stripped down to the bare essentials and have to rely solely on Jesus. We need to realize that sometimes we are lead into “deserts” in our own lives so that we can be stronger when we come out of them. We are lead sometimes right in the middle of the valley of the shadow of death. We feel like our heart is dying inside. We feel that we cannot live without that one piece in our lives that we thinks makes us whole. But this is where Christ teaches us to depend on him, and pursue His un-ending love for us. It is in these times that we truly need to depend on God to lead us, guide us, mold us, and teach us.

When the rough times come, and they will come, we need to remember who is in control. Give thanks in the stress, give thanks in the pain as well as the torment. We need to remember to pray constantly, giving all that is frustrating us to God for it is in Him that we find our strength for that day, for that hour, or even for that exact moment. Because we are in these times so that we can learn and grow closer to Him. And during this time you will see the problem you face dissipate and solve itself out. It may not be the result you want. But if you believe in the pain of learning and you are willing to go through the fire and not run from it you will grow and become stronger in the process. But you have to make that decision to not back down, not hide from the pain but rather face it head on. Knowing you will not give up until God moves and God works. In this fight you will find yourself, but you will find yourself in Him. For in Him we live and move and breath. Pray without ceasing and see what happens…