“Pray without ceasing …” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Our thinking about prayer, whether right of wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but it we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of a saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing …” – maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.
(from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers)
Today I am joining … Give Me Grace and Spiritual Sundays and Let Us Grow and Word of God Speak .
How beautiful. Mr. Chambers’ words always touch me in places that need to be touched with beauty and truth. Thank you for sharing this. His words of breathing and the flow of blood as compared to unceasing prayer is a fine word-picture. May I know this truth in my soul.
Me too, Linda. It is amazing how his words keep on speaking to so many. Have a wonderful Sunday!
Joanne, thank you for sharing that quote from Oswald Chambers. I have a couple of books by him, and I’m thinking maybe I should pull them out again. I’ve been trying to have more extended prayer times but not succeeding too well. But this quote reminds my that my prayer is to be continual, like breathing even if I don’t always get the extended times devoted specifically to prayer. Blessings to you!
Gayl,
I am using My Utmost as my devotional this year. No matter how many times I have used it in the past, his words are timeless. I am glad the quote spoke to you as well. The example of breath and blood made me realize how life-giving and life-sustaining prayer truly is to our lives. Blessings!
I love these words on prayer you’ve shared, Joanne! This quote is new to me. I will have to check out more from him. Thank you for the inspiration :). I hope you had a wonderful and meaningful Memorial Day weekend!
Thank You, Candace. It is from his devotional – My Utmost For His Highest. We had a wonderful weekend. Hope you did as well!
This is great. Sometimes I think we make prayer too difficult. Have a blessed week!