Along the way of our 40-Day Journey, we’ll extend several “Prayer Challenges” to you, with the aim of stretching and strengthening our prayer muscles. Last week we challenged the church with the biblical call to fast. This new prayer challenge is a little more fun, but it will still require discipline. Another nice thing about it is you won’t get hungry practicing it, but hopefully you’ll get hungry…for more of God. It’s called Practicing The Presence Of God.
One of the more curious verses on prayer in our Bibles is when the apostle Paul says simply, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Obviously it’s not a verse that can be woodenly obeyed. Nobody can literally be on their knees praying each and every moment. It would certainly make a lot of life’s other activities comically difficult.
Some commentators think that Paul is merely echoing Jesus, who in the parable of the persistent widow encouraged us to not lose heart while praying, but keep it up even when answers seem a long way off (Luke 18:1). Or that it’s another way Paul is telling us to pray about everything (Philippians 4:6) with a wide variety of prayers (1 Tim.2:1).
But others think – and I lean toward their interpretation – that Paul is teaching another idea here. The Pulpit Commentary (available on biblehub.com) says this verse is “an exhortation to live in a devotional frame of mind…Prayer may be without ceasing in the heart which is full of the presence of God, and evermore communing with him.”
A 17th century monk named Brother Lawrence wrote a small but timeless classic called The Practice Of The Presence Of God built around this idea. Brother Lawrence (who was not a leader or teacher in his monastery but…wait for it…a dishwasher) purposely trained himself to think of God all day long. “We should establish ourselves in a sense of God’s presence by continually conversing with Him,” he wrote.
Far too many people go through entire days without having a single God-thought. Many Christians (and I was one of them for a long time) sadly do the same, where hours go by without a single wisp of a prayer on their lips or awareness that Christ is near. Learning prayer as communion with God is the first step to changing this.
One practical exercise Brother Lawrence gave to anyone who asked him to teach them his prayer secret was to catch yourself especially during busy times, and purposely pause to worship God in that very moment.
He said, “When we are busied, we ought to cease for one brief moment, as often as we can, to worship God in the depth of our being, to taste Him though it be in passing.”
“We should establish ourselves in a sense of God’s presence by continually conversing with Him.” – Brother Lawrence
To practice God’s presence begins by simply “presenting yourself to God” (Romans 6:13). It requires few words. Like the boy Samuel you simply say, “Here I am…Speak, for your servant hears.” (1 Samuel 3:4, 10). Or like King Jehoshaphat, you say, “I am powerless…I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12).
And then you wait and worship, body still, mind alert, heart open, emotions calmed, spirit receptive.
Often when you’re not sure how to pray, that’s the best kind of prayer.
Here’s a song to practice God’s presence with.