Praise God for the precious gift of prayer, connecting us personally with God. Prayer helps us treasure Christ and progress in many ways in our pilgrimages including expressing love to Jesus and giving over to Him our needs and of those we love. I’ve always been struck by the biblical exhortation to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I’ve been reflecting on what’s been most helpful in my journey to be found abiding in God all throughout the day. Here are some of my favorites along with practical ideas to hopefully get your own creative juices flowing:
1. Prayer lists — a simple but consistent way for regular and rhythmic prayer. I’ve experimented with praying daily for requests, names, and topics like the items of the Lord’s prayer. Practical idea: make a list of the people you care most about, as well as how you want to see them grow in the Lord. Pray daily for the list of names and then for the list of attributes over the individuals.
2. Audio prayer messages — I’ve found that a fun way to both combine taking the time to pray for someone, as well as encourage them, is to record (via Voice Memos app on my iPhone) my prayer for a person and then text / email it to them. I’ve heard from friends that that has been especially meaningful because they can listen to the prayer over and over. Practical idea: if someone asks you for prayer, take 3 minutes to record one and send it to them via your online communication form of choice, perhaps at a moment when you know they need it.
3. Places of prayer — one of the most fruitful ways I’ve been able to increase my prayer time is by associating a place or activity with silent or audible prayer. For me, this has worked during my getting-ready routine (I try to go over the full Gospel in my mind), exercise (such as praying over names on elliptical), and in the car (using alone times there to pray out loud for whatever comes to me). Additional places could be: coffee shops you regularly frequent, kitchen times around meals, or places of reading or sleeping. Practical idea: identify an activity or place you either happen to be in regularly or want to start engaging with (such as exercise), and set a reminder on your phone to pray there.
4. Praying over emails — I’ve begun seeing my daily dose of messages as opportunities to pray for organizations and people. As I have time, I’ve sought to speak or whisper under my breath a blessing on the source of each email I’m opening. It’s made getting through my inbox much more lively and meaningful! Additionally, I’ve been trying to include short prayers in email or text responses I send. I’ve enjoying getting into a rhythm of making one of my final sentences or sign-offs something like “I pray for God’s mighty encouragement and grace in your week.” While hitting send, I actually speak this prayer to God. Practical idea: the next time you send a text or email to a Christian, write out and then speak out to God a quick prayer for that person, perhaps in line with what the communication is about.
I hope these basic ideas inspire you to consider how you can pursue "praying without ceasing” in whatever ways are life-giving in your relationship with God.