Articles and thoughts by Steve Green.
without ceasing…
February 17th, 2009
One of the features on my iPhone is that text messages are displayed as an ongoing conversation. For instance, I can select my son’s name and see the exchanges we’ve had since we began texting. (Is that really a verb?) Even though there may be spaces between our communications, the screen shows it as one long talk.
I received a quick follow up email from a friend and in the subject line it simply said, “and…” It was an extension of our previous conversation. “And” is a conjunction, functioning as a connector between words, phrases, clauses or sentences. Among other uses, it implies continuation.
When Paul said, “pray without ceasing”, I think he was encouraging us to remain in a continuing conversation with God. This past weekend I bumped into an old acquaintance while waiting for a flight. He was in the middle of a phone conversation, using one of those earpieces with a microphone. You know the kind of device where the person doesn’t look like they are on the phone, but just talking out loud? (I admit it does appear a bit strange.) When we saw each other, he started talking to me. I suppose the person he had been talking to understood what was happening and didn’t need an explanation for the interruption. We chatted for a couple of minutes and when we said goodbye he just picked up the phone conversation as if there had been no break. First, I marveled at the patience of the person on the other end of the phone! Then I wondered if that is what prayer should look like during our day. Sure, there are regular times set aside to pray, but to be in an “unceasing” conversation with God will necessarily require many interruptions, pauses and spaces. That is a natural part of life. At the end of the day, if we could see a condensed listing of our prayers, the expressions of praise and thanks, the cries for help, and the concerns expressed for the needs of others, it would appear as one extended conversation. God certainly understands the attention required by our daily tasks and honors the diligence given to our work. He is not offended by pauses or spaces, but instead is attentive to our voices and welcomes us each day to carry on the conversation of prayer.
16 Comments »
Steve,
I am reminded of a song my Mom used to sing to us in the car as we travelled, “The Royal Telephone” by Lehman. Verse one says:
“Central’s never busy, Always on the line, You may hear from Heaven, Almost any time. ‘Tis a royal service, free for one and all, When you get in trouble, give this royal line a call.”
Somehow Mom shared this thought of praying without ceasing and the awesome concept of conversational prayer with our Heavenly Father.
Thanks for the sweet reminder.
In fact at my Mom’s funeral, this is the verse my sister shared in remembrance of my mother, from First Thessalonians 5:17.
Comment by Natalie Kleefisch — February 17, 2009 @ 9:54 pm
Thanks, Natalie. Never heard that song but how great that your mom taught you such an important aspect of prayer when you were so young.
Comment by steve — February 18, 2009 @ 12:10 am
Steve, I love the analogy with texting and praying - very real life. But I do want to admit this. I struggle with the ‘pray without ceasing’ reference. Is there really a difference between prayer and conversation with God? Or are they one in the same? In my mortal human doughtfulness sometimes I ponder if I can change God’s mind with a prayer or a conversation. If God’s will is to be done can my prayer change God’s course of action? Isn’t that oftentimes our purpose of prayer, to bring intesession for an illness or tragedy and also to bring praise? I look at my own faults, sins, desires and sometimes feel so unworthy of God’s time. It’s sure a good thing for Christ’s redemption.
Comment by Jeff Hooper — February 18, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
Jeff,
I don’t think we change God’s mind. I know there are a few passages that seem to imply such, but taking the whole of Scripture it would appear that our praying is in great part a declaration of dependency upon God and the aligning of our wills to His. In prayer there are different kinds of conversations, some very intense, some with tears, some crying for help, some interceding for others and some are short expressions of our hearts.
The confidence we have to approach God with every care, concern, request or need is only because we are in Christ. In Him we are adopted, forgiven, justified and given the rights as sons and daughters.
Steve
Comment by steve — February 18, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
Dear Steve,
Isn’t it amazing how the Almighty God of the Universe cares about us and our every need? He told us to “cast all our care” on Him because He cares for us!
I grew much in my walk with Him when I was able to spend time with Him in prayer and conversation throughout the day. Thanking Him for the little blessings in each day and His grace causes one to get a better glimpse of His power and gain a better love for Him!
Again, we are reminded of God’s power and love.
Comment by Karen R. — February 20, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
I have been trying to find your album “Faithful” which has the song”Safely Home” on it. My local Christian bookstore tells me the album is no longer available. It is for dear friends who recently lost a loved one.I heard the song on KHCB from Houston, Texas. The words truly blessed my heart. Thank you for your help.
Comment by Linda Kuhn — February 25, 2009 @ 3:10 pm
Linda,
I’m afraid the only place to find the song is on iTunes. You can download it and burn a CD.
Steve
Comment by steve — February 26, 2009 @ 12:26 am
Linda,
You can also find the cd on Amazon and I am sure that Ebay would have it too. If you want the whole cd, i would suggest amazon. More reliable than ebay.
Comment by Joshua Stormont — February 26, 2009 @ 6:55 am
Hey Steve,
Have you ever considered doing a concert in Northern Canada (like, say, Whitehorse)? I would love for you to come up here…and there are a lot of children living here that I am sure would be thrilled to meet Prayer Bear!
Comment by Pauline — February 28, 2009 @ 11:01 pm
Steve,
Thank you so much for your ministry, God has used you tremendously in my life. Only in the presence of our Saviour would you realize the freedom and communion i have experience in and with Christ through your songs and journals. Making me want to fall in love and want to know Christ even more and see how great His glory really is.
Comment by AJ — March 2, 2009 @ 8:22 pm
Pauline,
We love to visit Canada, but usually come by invitation. So if a church in Whitehorse wants to make the call, we’d be glad to respond.
Thanks, and stay warm!
Steve
Comment by steve — March 3, 2009 @ 10:01 am
Steve,
Staying warm isn’t quite that easy up here, where the average temperature in the winter can go down to -40! However, we do our best…and dancing along with your CDs certainly helps! I’ll see if any of the churches here would be willing to bring you up here, maybe for a Youth Unite event…we’ll see!
Pauline
Comment by Pauline — March 3, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
Hi Steve,
I have been so blessed by the messages in your songs. Last night, I just discovered your album “Somewhere in Between”. In my walk with the Lord, I have shared so many of the thoughts expressed in the songs…from “Forgive me” and “In you alone”, to “Sorrow mixed with light” and “In brokenness you shine” (my favorite). I am amazed that through all my struggles and straying, the Lord remains my constant Friend and Father. And now, as I just read your thoughts about an unceasing conversation with God, I realized how precious it really is to reflect on our ongoing conversation with God. What a wonderful, loving Savior! Thanks for sharing Him in your ministry!
Michelle
Comment by Michelle Watson-Grant — March 15, 2009 @ 10:28 am
Thanks for the encouragement, Michelle. “In Brokenness You Shine” is my favorite on that project too.
Steve
Comment by steve — March 15, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
Ceaseless conversation with God seems to have a couple of purposes. First is the obvious connection we make with our God. I believe it is, as God said to Moses, “Holy Ground” that consecrates us throughout the day. Second is that because we are connected to God in this way, we hopefully behave in a way more aligned with His nature and less with our own sinful selves. Imagine the richness of the relationships we would have if we did this more.
While, from our perspective our conversations with God throughout the day may seem filled with interruptions, if CS Lewis is correct about God living “outside” of time, our conversations may well be one ceaseless stream to Him.
Finally, what I need to remind myself of as well is that a conversation is two-way and I need to take time to do my fair share of listening.
Comment by Doug — March 23, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
Well said. Thanks.
Comment by steve — March 25, 2009 @ 10:00 pm