"Pray without ceasing."
1 Thessalonians 5:17
This isn't the only place in the scriptures that asks us to pray always, but it is an interesting way of putting it, and something that can perhaps help us understand what God is asking. I think the idea here is that we are never alone because we are always communicating with God as things happen.
Some prayers are more formal, which is appropriate, but this kind of constant, always-on, background prayer doesn't need to be as much. Obviously respect is always appropriate when talking to God, but we don't have to spend every day constantly on our knees. God will hear us if we talk to him through a constant internal dialogue, as we go about our day, wherever we are. I know that some people mock when people express their thanks to God for something very small like help finding their car keys, but that does happen. Not because God has "nothing better to do," but because we include him in our everyday lives and even the smallest troubles, and he is not offended when we pray for even the smallest things that we care about. He is all powerful. He can do the bigger things and the smaller things, and he's still got time left over to help everyone else too. :)
Now of course this needs to be contrasted with the ideal of being anxiously engaged in a good cause (D&C 58:26-27). We shouldn't need to be commanded in all things, or use prayer as a delaying tactic, thinking that we don't need to take action until we get a sign, but God absolutely wants us to look unto him "in every thought" (D&C 6:36). He wants to be part of our lives. Just like we sometimes wish that a loved one were with us, God can be and wants to be with us always. And if we live worthy of that, it will happen.
Today, let's work toward that day by including God in our lives. Let's pray without ceasing, looking unto him in all that we do and think, and then listening and accepting his guidance.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
This isn't the only place in the scriptures that asks us to pray always, but it is an interesting way of putting it, and something that can perhaps help us understand what God is asking. I think the idea here is that we are never alone because we are always communicating with God as things happen.
Some prayers are more formal, which is appropriate, but this kind of constant, always-on, background prayer doesn't need to be as much. Obviously respect is always appropriate when talking to God, but we don't have to spend every day constantly on our knees. God will hear us if we talk to him through a constant internal dialogue, as we go about our day, wherever we are. I know that some people mock when people express their thanks to God for something very small like help finding their car keys, but that does happen. Not because God has "nothing better to do," but because we include him in our everyday lives and even the smallest troubles, and he is not offended when we pray for even the smallest things that we care about. He is all powerful. He can do the bigger things and the smaller things, and he's still got time left over to help everyone else too. :)
Now of course this needs to be contrasted with the ideal of being anxiously engaged in a good cause (D&C 58:26-27). We shouldn't need to be commanded in all things, or use prayer as a delaying tactic, thinking that we don't need to take action until we get a sign, but God absolutely wants us to look unto him "in every thought" (D&C 6:36). He wants to be part of our lives. Just like we sometimes wish that a loved one were with us, God can be and wants to be with us always. And if we live worthy of that, it will happen.
Today, let's work toward that day by including God in our lives. Let's pray without ceasing, looking unto him in all that we do and think, and then listening and accepting his guidance.
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