After reading my Bible this morning, I turned to Day by Day Grace by Bob Hoekstra. This devotional is published on the Blue Letter Bible site. Our pastor has been speaking to us quite a bit about prayer, and these thoughts tie in helpfully with what we’ve been learning:
Praying Without Ceasing to the God of All Grace
The God of all grace… pray without ceasing. (1 Peter 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
These two biblical phrases are ideal correlations. The only way that we can live as God intends is by grace. Our God is the source of all grace. God’s grace is to be drawn upon by humility and faith. Prayer is the most appropriate expression of humility and faith. We pray, because we need God’s help (thereby, expressing humility). We pray, because we believe God will help us (thereby, exercising faith). Consequently, praying without ceasing is a simple, yet profound, way to relate rightly to the God of all grace.
“Pray without ceasing.” This command is not requiring the incessant reciting of prayers. Rather, it is a call to a way of living: “continuing steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Praying without ceasing is an attitude of the heart, as well as an addressing of prayers consistently to the Lord. To pray without ceasing is to have the inner man focused in humble dependence upon the Lord, while consistently addressing actual prayers to the Lord. (emphasis added)
I’m surprised to not see a “Christmas is evil” post on here yet! 😛