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Prayer is a powerful weapon that God gave to us. The fact that we can even pray and know that God hears and answers us is amazing. But as believers, how many times do we not really talk with God and pray until there is an emergency? I know I can struggle in consistently making time to connect and communicate with God. How about you?

But Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that we are to "pray without ceasing." He even goes on to say that "this is the will of God for us." While there are definitely benefits to setting aside specific times to pray, listen and connect with God what does praying without ceasing look like? Are we supposed to walk around all day talking to God audibly, looking and sounding like a crazy person? No. Are we supposed to constantly have conversations going on in our minds with God, maybe, but most likely not. If those two things were happening, how could we even get anything done? 

I think we can live this out in two ways. 

1. Acknowledge God is in you AND with you. 

You see the same power that got Jesus out of that grave, the same Holy Spirit that decended on and filled the disciples at pentacost in the book of Acts is living in you if you are a follower of Jesus. Its time we act like it. If we acknowledge God in our everyday lives, we can also pause and ask Him things throughout the day. When we receive some bad news, when traffic was a nightmare, when our kids get bad grades we can talk with Him and cast our fears worries and concerns in His direction. It's almost like having our own personal counselor with us all the time to listen to our feelings and help carry the burden, in fact He says He is a counselor. 

2. Pray with others where they are.

We all need people to pray for and with us at times. But it's not always easy to call a friend, ask someone to meet you, or even drive over to a local church and have a pastor pray for you. This is where technology and digital come into play. We've recently created a Facebook group called the Prayer Room. It's in this room where you can post prayer requests and pray for others. We've committed to keep it confidential, to really pray for each other and to followup on how things are going. Let's be honest we spend a lot of time on social media, myself included... but what would it look like if we used those online platforms to really develop some authentic connections and support each other throughout the week. That is what Church is supposed to be. We are there for each other, we are there for you. 

If you're not part of The Prayer Room we'd love for you to join us here. If you are already part of this amazing community, why not invite someone to join?

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