Prayer: 1 Thesolonians 5:17 pretty much says it all...Pray without ceasing.
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Great, Wiley, but I think you can elaborate better on the last part. What does it mean operationally? Behaviorally?
Do we walk 2 paces and bow our heads to the ground toward Jerusalem every 2 paces?
Do we go around muttering under our breath in tongues 24/7? When do we sleep, eat and work?
Do we say an endless loop of vain repetitious OUR FATHERS?
What do we DO, Wiley?
How does one pray always in balance, functional usefulness, etc. Is it a heart attitude? Is it multiplexing? How does it work? How does it REALLY WORK in the nitty gritty of REAL life?
To me, "Pray without ceasing" means the same thing that "situational awareness" means to a fighter pilot in a dogfight. The pilot is always aware of his surroundings, who's there, how he can react to a situation, and how his partners can help him out of a situation.
"Pray without ceasing" tells me to always be aware that God is there. He's willing to listen and He's able to intervene when He sees it necessary.
We don't have to "do" anything special. It's like talking to your best friend...because He is.
I think you’re trying for a facetious tone here, or a pointed use of irony, but don’t you think we’d do more to build one another up if we avoided using tendentious buzzwords like “vain repetition”?
God, and only God, knows the heart. Only He can judge the value of any prayer, whether it uses many words, a few words, or no words.