I've tried to carry out this verse. I write my prayer list on my hand and "PRAY" in big letters so I won't forget. And it helped. But still I can't say I pray constantly.
Then, two of my friends who I was praying for to be healed died in the last couple of weeks -- TWO! One of my dear friends has been my friend for several years and oh, what will I do without her? What a joy she was (my almost 11 year old tells me, "You can make a new friend Mom." What wisdom!)
So, I've been thinking about the above verse again. What does it mean?
I read that night that it can be interpreted as just being present, acknowledging all the time God's presence in our lives, a continual awareness of Him in all I do.
I am thinking this might be more of what the verse in Thessalonians means. It is something I can grasp hold of I think.
Jesus says in John 15: "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me."
For me, this is the key. I need to live in Christ, rest in Him, find my strength for living from Him.
What is prayer anyway? It isn't just requests. It is also listening and learning from God. It is our conversation with God.
Maybe praying continuously means we need to keep that conversation going all the time, in silence, in thought, in contemplation. Everything in our lives is part of that God conversation.
I'm still thinking on all this. It is beginning to make more sense to me.
Any thoughts?