Chapter 16. Continual Communion with God. We cultivate our fields, praising. We sail the sea, singing hymns. Clement of Alexandria. Paul bids us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Obviously, Paul doesn't mean never sleeping or conversing with other people, but he does mean we should be continually praying as much as possible throughout the day. In this manner, we stay in constant communion with God.
When we finish our morning prayers, we should pursue our daily activities like a small child going on a walk with his father on the beach. With one hand, the child picks up seashells and other interesting objects. With the other hand, he holds tightly to his father's hand. Whether we're at home or out in the world, we should go through each day consciously holding God's hand as we proceed. But how do we do this? We do this by pouring out numerous short prayers to God throughout the day.
Father, help me avert my eyes from anything that might stir up lust or covetousness. Father, thank You for giving me the strength not to look at the racy magazine covers as I walked by that newsstand. Father, help me to purge from my mind the gossip I just heard. Father, I realize I was very impatient with my coworker just now. Please forgive me. Father, I just learned that Susan's husband is in the hospital. Please heal him and speed his recovery, and please give Susan and the children extra strength at this time.
Father, I praise You for this lovely earth You created. These prayers do not have to be long. Just one or two sentences keeps you in constant fellowship with the Father. Even if you find long times of prayer difficult during your devotional hour, you may discover that you excel at these short, constant prayers throughout the day. Don't worry about using special phrases or exalted language. Just address whatever needs you have at the moment. Give thanks for every blessing you receive.
Share your every concern with God. Intercede for every person you come into contact with during that day. Even though you will be making a nightly examination with God, confess your sins as soon as you become aware of them and then ask forgiveness. Of course, you can't expect God's forgiveness if you're not truly repentant. He sees through fake repentance in an instant. And if you're not continuously forgiving others for their sins throughout the day, you can't expect forgiveness for your sins (Matthew 6:15).
This is what it means to "pray without ceasing." It doesn't require us to be on our knees the whole day. Rather, it means we keep our morning prayer going throughout the whole day through these short bursts of petitions, praises, confessions, and intercessions. Matthew Henry compares our early morning prayer to lighting a fire on the family altar. We need to keep that fire going throughout the day, never letting it get cold.
So we must keep adding sticks to the fire by sending up short prayers and praises throughout the day. Thereby, we make our whole day one continuous prayer. The early Christians prayed as they dressed. They prayed as they walked to their jobs. They prayed as they worked. Most of them had common jobs doing manual labor, and this was ideal. It meant that their minds were free all day to pray to God. They sang hymns as they plowed their fields or mended their fishing nets.
They prayed as they washed their family's clothes and cooked their meals. Clement of Alexandria said this about the man who lives the kingdom life: "His whole life is prayer and conversation with God." Maintaining an awareness of God's presence. Communion with God throughout the day means more than just sending up prayers continually. We should also maintain an awareness of God's presence at all times. It doesn't matter whether we're talking with Him or not. He is right there with us.
He's standing beside us when we wash the dishes. He's sitting next to us as we drive. He's standing next to us at work. He's not there as big brother, hoping to catch us in some sin. He's there as a Father, looking lovingly on all that we do. He's also watching over us with loving concern when we fail. To be sure, He doesn't wink at sin. Yet He's not a harsh judge waiting to throw the book at us with every wrong step. He wants to work with us, not against us.
Nearly all Christians know God is always present with us. That is, they know it intellectually. But knowing His continuous presence experientially, that's a different matter. For most of us, it takes years and years of discipline, concentration, and spiritual growth before we reach a place where we are as aware of His presence as we are of another person standing in the room.
We've talked a lot about prayer in the last few chapters because it is such an extremely crucial part of the kingdom life, and so is obedience. So in the next section, let's talk about obedience.