Pray Without Ceasing

I was a teenager hanging out on the shore of a small lake at the Ressica Falls Boy Scout Camp when two of my buddies started arguing over something silly. Jeff told the other guy to shut up, or he would make him eat a fishing worm. Of course, the loudmouth said, ‘Go ahead and try!’ after which he opened his mouth wide and stuck out his tongue.

That was all Jeff needed. He quickly flipped his wrist, and a dead, dirt-encrusted worm landed straight on the center of the other kid’s tongue. Haha! It was awesome. 

The lake provided other memories as part of our summer at camp, where we went to have fun and achieve scouting merit badges in different activities.

One of my favorite activities at camp was learning to sail on a small Sunfish boat. Once I got my badge, I could check out a sailboat during future retreats or whenever I was at camp.

It was such a feeling of freedom to cruise across the water with the wind at our backs. The sail would stretch taut and cause us to slice through the little waves.

But then, we always had to turn around and head back into the wind to return to the dock. It was much harder, especially the first time we learned it.

To sail into the wind, we had to learn how to tack. Tacking is a maneuver in which you can sail at an angle to the wind so that the boat is able to make headway against the wind. It was challenging to learn how to turn at the end of the tack so we could cut across the wind in the other direction. We had to switch sides quickly, communicate with any other crew onboard, turn directly into the wind for a moment without losing too much speed, and get settled into a good angle relative to the wind direction without oversteering.

There were quite a few times we ended up capsizing! We found ourselves in the water, with the boat on its side. And it wasn’t easy to get the boat uprighted. The sail acted like a suction cup on the surface of the water. But we had to persist and keep trying, so we could get home to the dock.

Sometimes, praying can feel like this. At times, we’re flying along in front of the wind of the Spirit. It seems the Lord is answering and quickly responding to our plea for help. At other times, prayer can feel like we’re headed into the wind and fighting for every inch. There have been times in my life when I’ve felt upended and stuck.

But Scripture tells us to “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2, ESV).

The Apostle Paul tells us at other points to, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), and to “pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18).

He says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

For most of us, this takes some time and practice to learn how to pray consistently, with gratitude, continuing even without ceasing.

Richard Foster describes breath prayer as one way of learning to pray like this. Breath prayers are short prayers with three important elements. First, address God in a close, personal way. Second, phrase your request in as few words as possible. Finally, pray this regularly with an attitude of submission and dependence.  

Samples of a breath prayer include: “Lord, teach me to pray.” “Father, give me wisdom for parenting.” “Jesus, give me your heart for my lost friends.” “Abba, replace my fear with confidence in you.” 

Like sailing, praying is a varied and learned activity. And, we won’t always feel ‘successful’ at it.  But that’s ok. Richard Foster, in his book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, reminds us that God “is gracious as always and understands our frailty… The question is not whether we fail again and again – that is a given; the question is whether over a period of time we are developing a practiced habit of divine fellowship.”

Dear Saints, how is your prayer life and intimacy with God right now? Do you need to make a turn and find the wind again? Do you need help to get out of the water and get upright so you can sail again? Is there a breath prayer that comes to mind for you?

If you need a suggestion for how to get started (or restarted), begin with a simple breath prayer I learned on a retreat back in March 2000: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”