Continually

In his first canonical letter to Thessalonica, Paul urges the church there to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV). Other translations say "pray without ceasing" (KJV) or "never stop praying" (NLT). The Amplified Bible adds an added dimension to its language: "Be unceasing in prayer [pray perseveringly]."

This morning, I read this verse in conjunction with verses in the Gospel of John that speak about worshipping the Lord "in spirit and in truth" (see John 4:23-24). I think sometimes about what it means to pray continually. I have certainly had seasons in my relationship with the Lord where I felt like I was in fairly constant contact with Him each day. On the flip side, I've had many (more) seasons where I would come to the end of a day and realize, "I haven't said a word to God since this morning." I strive to have my first intentional action of each day be connecting to God. Usually, it's a simple as when I start coming out of my sleepy fog saying, "Good morning, Lord!" It might sound silly, but the intentionality of putting Him first in my day feels important to me.

John's words about worshipping in spirit and in truth can, I think, probably be fairly applied to prayer as well... What does it mean to pray in spirit? Well, from what I can understand (or "discern" for those Bible-lingo folks) in this moment, it means connecting to God (whether in worship or in supplication or elsewhere) from the deepest parts of myself. It means doing more than going through the motions; and sometimes, honestly, I find myself doing just that. It means taking the split second of energy to be intentional about opening up from within in my moment with God, and, if I'm lucky, leaving that channel open so that my spirit can stay in that state of "continual" connection.

And, "in truth"? I think it just means to do it with transparency, bold honesty and authenticity. Perhaps that's why the phrase "in spirit and in truth" is used more than once. Worshipping (praying) in spirit and doing so in truth are tied together. The best of me is connected to Him through His spirit, which has come to take up residence within me... right, probably, in the place inside where my truth likes to hang out. I am pretty sure that's anatomically sound. ;) Seriously, though, to come to Him in spirit and in truth opens up my possibilities for coming to Him continually. And being intentional about that continual contact makes it easier and more likely for me to allow that access that defines "in spirit and in truth."

This post is feeling a little jagged to me; but some days will be like that, I suppose. Here's what I'm taking into my prayer time this morning: make an effort to take the action of connecting to, speaking with the Lord. And do it from the best place inside. Make it count; offer up the deep. Two simple ideas, neither of which are practically easy for me to grasp - or convey! Both of which, however, surely have great reward.