by Kathy Ross
Have you ever wondered, as I have, about the meaning of I Thessalonians 5:17? When I first came across Paul’s exhortation to "Pray without ceasing," my ten-year-old mind thought it meant I should pray every waking minute of every day— and maybe the nonwaking minutes, too, if I were really spiritual. I was looking for ways to earn God’s approval, not realizing He had already affixed His seal to my spirit.
Now, as a wife, mother, sister, friend, editor, citizen, and occasional teacher, I’m gaining a new perspective on this verse. I recognize the need for a direct reminder to persevere and persist in prayer, to keep at it without letting it slip through the cracks of my daily schedule so filled the demands I feel compelled to meet. I also recognize the tendency to pray superficially, which represents another kind of "ceasing." How often do I say, "Lord, please help so-and-so" or "Please help me with such-and-such," and let it go at that? I’m becoming aware that to "pray without ceasing" may also mean to pray without ceasing to look deeper, to ask more specifically, to pray with an eye to the step-by-step, sometimes years’-long process whereby God’s life-giving work unfolds in anyone’s life, including my own.
My new enthusiasm to embrace this command comes from my work with Hugh on his new book, Beyond the Cosmos. As I pondered the extra-dimensional explanation for how God can and does give undivided attention to each of His children at every moment, something clicked inside me. I know what happens when I’m in the presence of an attentive, understanding, caring human listener. I talk. I’m eager to express my thoughts and feelings. I know I will be received. I may be challenged, but I will not be criticized, condemned, or shamed. How much more wonderful to have the full attention of God, the source of all that is good and whose wisdom and capacities supercede humans by infinite orders of magnitude!
I’m beginning to realize that my confidence in His attentiveness—and character—is what draws me like a magnet to pray—with less ceasing than before, with less effort than ever. He has set in motion a wonderful cycle for each of us: as His Spirit within reassures us of His kind and non-condemning attentiveness, we become more willing and eager to pray, which in turn opens our hearts to receive greater assurance of His goodness and attentiveness, which in turn makes conversing with Him even more inviting, and so on.
If I could ever describe the opposite to a vicious cycle, this is it. Are you ready to give it a spin? He’s ready whenever we are.
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