PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing." What is prayer? Prayer, which is a form of worship, did not originate with us. God is the originator of prayer. It is an invitation, which He extends to us to communicate with Him. Prayer is God's special invitation that is not dated, hence it does not expire. In Matthew 11:28, the invitation is given, "Come unto me!" This is an invitation that we cannot afford to discard. In our world, where problems come in varying forms and by differing degrees, with much regularity, we need the constant companion, who is Jesus. We can bring all our cares and needs; our little concerns, our medium-sized challenges and our huge perplexities to Him. It is reassuring and comforting to know that what we tell God, is not shared with anyone else. He patiently and lovingly listens to our supplications, whether they are groanings that cannot be uttered; or short sentences; or even long ones, He answers according to His will. Our verse of focus encourages us to 'pray without ceasing'.  Does it mean that we are always on our knees with our eyes closed.  No! We can reverently pray while we are walking, or even driving a car. We can humbly and respectfully pray while we are attending to our daily tasks, or even while we are relaxing. 'Pray without ceasing' means to have steady communion with God.  We must be cognizant of our dependence on God. Therefore, we should never be out of communication with Him. With such, the possibility of yielding to temptation lessens. 'Pray without ceasing' is maintaining a vibrant, active prayer life, which will undoubtedly result in deeper, richer, more rewarding spiritual experiences. May we accept Jesus' invitation to pray and do so without ceasing.