Our wonderful Office Manager, Nita, turned her daily desktop calendar to January 9 (today), and saw this verse from the King James Version: “Pray without ceasing.” She thinks it really meant, “Snow without ceasing” as we looked out the window to see even more large flakes coming down. The snow has become somewhat annoying, and yet still so beautiful. In context, the “Pray without ceasing” verse is joined with a couple of other verses that say, in the NIV version,
16 “Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
To paraphrase and summarize the thoughts of John Piper, “praying continually” means at least three things: maintaining a spirit of dependence that permeates all we do; praying repeatedly and often; and not giving up on prayer.
I’m looking at the irritating, yet beautiful snow falling as I write this; I picture each flake as a prayer, only each one rises up to God. I ask myself, “Do I pray always, the way the snow falls, seemingly without ceasing?” “Do I pray to show my dependence on God, or just ask Him for the things I want?” “Do I ever give up when I feel like God is absent or says, ‘No,’ or asks me to wait on His timing?” I have a long way to go in my prayer life, but I’m thankful for the falling snow and its reminder to me of what God wants my communication with Him to be: ongoing, never-ending, and beautiful.
Troy Burns