PRAYER AS A LIFESTYLE
By Sandra Kidula
When I thought of writing this, I didn’t feel like the most appropriate person to do it as I felt inadequate. I asked myself, “Will I be living the kind of life that I’m suggesting to people to try and live? Will I be setting the example myself?” So as I write this I pray that God will help me live up to the standard that He wants me to.
Pray Continually… Is it even possible?
The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “..pray continually..” It’s one of the shortest verses of the Bible. So when God tells us to pray continually, does it mean that we should constantly walk around with our heads bowed because we’re talking to God? Does it mean that we should be on our knees twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? That would be awfully hard, wouldn’t it? I believe that every command God gives us, He gives us because He has seen that we are capable of doing it. 1 John 5:3 tells us that His commands are not burdensome. That just confirms that we can pray continually without feeling overwhelmed or overburdened by this command.
You are a friend of God…
I tend to think of God as a friend. I talk to Him as I would a friend. When something is happening in your day, you would want to immediately text or call your very best friend and tell them about it, even if it does not concern them. That’s just how God wants us to see Him, as our very best friend. He wants us to be free to talk to Him not just about spiritual matters, but also about that consultant who makes us nearly cry during the ward round, or that guy who brought us a rose on Valentine’s Day. God is also not just concerned about our pain and our confusion. He’s also interested in our joys and He wants to dance with us, rejoice with us, as much as He mourns with us and comforts us.
He can hear you, anywhere, anyhow, anytime…
Our God is a great God. And one of the most amazing things about this great God is that He is omnipresent and omniscient, meaning He is always present and all-knowing. So before we say a word He knows what we’re going to say and no matter where we are He will hear us because He is right there with us. We don’t need to go to a chapel; we don’t need to be kneeling down for Him to hear us. In fact we even don’t need to speak aloud because even the thoughts of our hearts are not hidden from Him.
So talking about praying continuously, embracing prayer as a lifestyle and not just an event begins by knowing and believing that God is our friend, that He is for us and not against us and that He is sincerely interested in every single aspect of our lives.
