Without Ceasing

“Pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

One of the shortest verses inthe Bible, but what seems like an impossible command to follow.

The part of the command thatusually causes us to scratch our heads is the description of how we are topray—without ceasing. We feign ignorance that we don’t know how to do somethingwithout ceasing. But I want to suggest that there are plenty of things that wedo without ceasing. One of which is social media.

We know what it means to“social media without ceasing.” We rarely forget that our Instagram feed isconstantly refreshing in the background. We post a picture, then check everycouple of minutes to see who has liked or commented. We’re afraid we’re goingto miss something big (like a candle giveaway), so we check Instagram waitingin the grocery checkout line, stopped at red light, and even at dinner withfriends. Even as we’re taking a photo of a fun experience, we’re alreadythinking of the caption that we’re going to use (#InstagramOrItDidntHappen).And while few would admit the unsanitary practice, we even take our phones tothe bathroom with us just in case something urgent gets posted in the twominutes we were gone. In almost every moment of our daily lives, we arethinking about our digital life.

In almost every moment of our daily lives, we are thinking about our digital life.

What if we had that sameintentionality about our prayers?

What if those moments in agrocery line we look up to our hurting neighbors around us and pray for them,even if we don’t know who they are or what they’re going through?

What if when we stop at a redlight, we pray that God would give us wisdom and strength to do His work wherewe are going?

What if, at dinner with ourfriends, we intentionally ask those with us how we can pray for them and praywith them right then?

What if in those big moments inlife, we first turn to God in praise?

In the bathroom…well, you candecide what to do there. 

Let me be honest, I don’t dothis all the time. Sometimes my first reaction to a blessing is to post it witha cute photo on Instagram (#blessing) and not turn to God in prayers ofthanksgiving. But it’s something that God continues to convict me of as Iscroll instead of kneel.

God continues to convict me as I scroll instead of kneel.

So don’t fool yourself intothinking you don’t know how to do something without ceasing. You do it all thetime. So instead of filling the cracks of your day with mindless tapping andscrolling, let prayer seep into every part of your day. Let everything be done inprayer, not with your Instagram story in mind.