Let Me Pray

Blue: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Orange: Psalm 131
Green: Let Us Pray (song by Steven Curtis Chapman)

Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I confess, heavenly Father,
That I do not pray without ceasing.
My prayer is more ceasing
More stopping,
More absent,
Than prayer.

I limit my time with you,
To moments snatched here and there.
To less time than I spend watching the news.
To less time than I spend playing with the dog.
My prayers are anything but constant.

I hear you say your heart is aching,
You’ve got trouble in the making
And you ask if I’ll be in prayer for you please
And in keeping with convention
I’ll say yes with good intentions
To pray later making mention of your needs.

I promise to pray,
I feel the weight of those promises,
And I try to do as I have said.
But too often those prayers
Are said on the run,
Are sent without power or speed,
From my distracted heart
To your waiting presence.
That’s not the way that it should be.

It was suggested once,
That I use a Psalm as a centering prayer:

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
My eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
Too great and too marvelous for me
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a child quieted at its mother’s breasts;
Like a child that is quieted is my soul.

For me to pray that Psalm would only be
Wishful thinking.
Pride can be my downfall.
My soul is anything but calm and quiet.
I can pray for it,
But I certainly cannot claim it to be true.

I start to pray,
And the world rushes in.
Did I do this?
Did I take care of that?
Focus.
O God, hear my prayer.
A friend is hurting, God.
But I wonder what task awaits me at work.
And when I will fit in the laundry.
Focus.
I can’t even hear my prayers,
How can you, God?

Let us pray, let us pray,
Everywhere in every way.
Every moment of the day,
It is the right time.
Let us pray without end and
When we finish start again.
Like breathing out and breathing in.
Let us pray.

And yet.
There are moments.
When I take a deep breath.
And the air I breathe is filled with you.
And it calms my spirit
And quiets my heart.
I can pray.
I can listen.
I know you are God.

For those few moments, God,
I am thankful.
Forgive me, God, for all the other times.
And bless me, God, with more moments.

Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.