Day 2 – Never stop praying. – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
There is a prayer I remember learning as a child. My parents taught me because their parents taught them.
Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord, my soul to take.
Now that I’m an adult and I say that prayer out loud, is seems a little dark to teach a child! But I remember it being strangely comforting. It gave me the confidence in knowing that there is more to life than just what we experience day in and day out. There is an eternal component to life for those of us who know Jesus.
I believe that when Paul says to never stop praying, he isn’t talking about walking around with our eyes constantly closed and our heads constantly bowed; we would run into all kinds of things and could get pretty badly injured!
When I think of the relationships in my life, the best and deepest ones are the ones where the other person and I are constantly in contact; whether that’s an actual conversation or simply a reminder of what they mean to me. For example, every time I see something with a mermaid on it or look at my iris garden, I think of my best friend. We’ll call or text each other, using social media to stay connected even though she lives over 2,000 miles away from me.
When I wake up every morning, the very first thing I do is thank the Lord for a night’s rest and pray He’ll use today for His purpose. As I sit with my morning coffee and bible, I chuckle at the examples of His humor and thank Him for a new thought or realization that pops out of a verse I’ve read over and over before. Every time I dig in my garden, I thank God for the earth He made and the joy I get to experience as I see the colors in the flowers and smell the richness of the dirt.
I can’t imagine my day without God in it. My prayer life has morphed into a daily and constant conversation with my Maker. Its grown way beyond a childlike prayer uttered at bedtime or the obligatory “thank you for this food” prayer before food is gobbled up.
God created us in His image, which I feel means that He craves a relationship with me the same way that I crave a relationship with those people I love and that He’s put into my life.
What does your prayer life look like? Do you really talk to God? Do you bring the little, daily stuff to Him or do you only remember to look His way when something big is going on and you suddenly realize you can’t do it alone?
I want to challenge you today to start a running conversation with Jesus. You may feel silly at first, but soon you’ll sense the presence of Someone who loves you more than you could possibly imagine. And, dear friend, there really is nothing like that feeling in the whole world!
Father, thank You for today. Thank You for all You provide and the lessons You show me when I allow You to open my eyes to what You want for me each day. I pray that, like the scriptures say, You will be in my coming and my going. Please help me see Your glory and feel Your presence in my day today. Amen.
