Pray Without Ceasing
Devo #7
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Colossians 3:7
This verse is so true in many respects. When I spend my day focusing on prayer, I’m guaranteed to feel less stressed and anxious. (And if you know me, you know this is no small feat. I struggle with pretty severe anxiety on the daily, including social anxiety. But more on social anxiety in the coming days!.)
However, this is sometimes difficult to achieve. There are days that float like a leaf down river, easy and carefree. Then there are days where the rapids pick me up and threaten to dash me on the river bank if I don’t hold on for dear life. There’s an in between too, of course. Reminding myself to keep in constant contact with God, no matter if it’s a happy or anxious day, is integral. I’m grateful on the happy days for the rest, and grateful on the difficult ones because of God’s help!
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I love thinking about my relationship with God as the ultimate friendship, but he’s my father as well as my friend. He wants to know each and every worry from the day. How great, and how wonderful, that our God knows us so well and so intimately that even before we’re aware of any upcoming worries, God already knows how he will resolve it for us? Continuing to be prayerful will remind us of this on the daily, as well!
But as for the practical piece, how can we be consistently prayerful, even in the hectic days? One thing to remember is that it doesn’t have to be complicated. God knows what’s on your heart already! For those times where I don’t have the words, one thing I like to do is to just close my eyes, breathe, and think through the Lord’s Prayer for a moment… meditating each line and pondering it’s meaning while I breathe in and out. That centering moment can snap me out of a panic, and often has!