Prayer
"Pray without ceasing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
President Lyndon Johnson invited one of his aides, Bill Moyers, to a family dinner at the White House. Since Moyers was an ordained minister, the President called upon him to say grace before the meal. Moyers began his prayer, quietly asking the Lord's blessing. Johnson, on the other end of the table, soon bellowed, "Speak up Bill! I can't hear you." To which Moyers replied, "I wasn't speaking to you, Mr. President."
Many of us have some trouble when it comes to praying, especially in public. We search for all the right words or we worry about touching on all the right points. Sometimes the process is so distorted that some people believe only an ordained preacher should even take a stab at it.
But think about this: what is the most mentioned command in the Bible? It's to pray. In fact, God not only commands us to pray, He says to "pray without ceasing." Now, would God tell us to constantly do something that was beyond our capabilities? Don't worry about picking five dollar words, or using correct tenses in Old English, or producing deep theological truths. Just talk sincerely to your Lord and tell him what's on your mind. It's as simple as that. And relax. You are talking with your best Friend.
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11 Comments
This devotional is one of those that makes people go hummmmmm...
Our society is so focused on perfection, some feel they have to be perfect in order to pray to the Lord. God isn't judging us by the same standard society might is...and oh!... what a relief. I find it refreshing that I can bow my head..."just as I am". - renae
Pray without ceasing does not mean to me that I should spend all my time with my head bent in prayer or on my knees. One example of pray without ceasing to me is when I hear the birds sing outside and thank God for them or when I think of someone who is having troubles and ask that they recieve what they need. This to me is prayer without ceasing. - jag
At the first church that I pastored we had a family that had joined the fellowship, and they had been there for a few months, so at the end of the Sunday morning service I asked the husband if he would close our service in prayer. There was silence in the church and as I began to go to the door to greet the people after the prayer he stoped me as I walked by him and said to me "Preacher I can't do this", I then told him just to talk to God as if he was a close friend and they were all alone. As I got to the door I heard him begin to pray and he started like this, "God, this is old John" he taliked to God just as I had instructed him to do and at the end of his prayer there was not a dry eye in the whole place. No one remembered anything that I had said that morning, not even myself, this mans simplicity of prayer had shown us just how easy it is to talk to our heavenly Father. This has been a highlite of my ministry ever since that morning. Thank you for this devotion it has brought some very fond memories back to my mind this morning. God bless everyone and I pray God blesses you in your church services this morning. - Jerry
Jerry, what a wonderful story to start our day. Thank you and Amen. - Grant
Jerry, are you a pastor at Johnson Ferry? - Grant
No, Jerry isn't a pastor at Johnson Ferry, but we certainly appreciate his time, his insights, and most of all, his heart. Thank you, Jerry, for taking such an active part in these comments. You are a blessing. - RFTH
When our daughter graduated high school she was invited,along with 2 other students, to say a prayer for the class.The other two students said very rehearsed, eloquent prayers.When our daughter got up she prayed an impromptu ,un-rehearsed, "policically incorrect" (she directed her prayer to Jesus Christ...by name)prayer. After the graduation ceremonies had ended I mentioned that her prayer was from the heart and didn't sound prepared.She said,"I was asked to pray for the class...not give a speech." - Susan
No I am not a pastor at Jonhson Ferry. I pastor a wonderful Baptist Church outside of Jersey Ga. We have some of the best people in the world that goes there and I feel priviledged to be there. I love to read the devotions and comments on this site and I hope I don't worry the paitence of the people who read the comments. I do not want to sound like a know it all, I just love to converse with Gods people. I have a special gift from God, I have the gift of Gabb. I love to talk. God bless all and thanks for the nice comments I just want to glorify God. - Jerry
You certainly do that. - Grant
Amen to that! Thank you Jerry for your gracious humble comments. I learn so much from you. - Christ follower
This is a VERY good devotional! It's simple but it still means so much. I'm starting to pray without cease. Now, whenever I'm outside, I look around and thank God for everything I see out there. Every child, every leaf, every blade of grass. - Trisha