PRAYER

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests before God.

And then in 1 Thess 5:17, pray without ceasing

Praying without ceasing literally means there should be no intervals or gaps in your prayer time. Wow, that’s a challenge. How is that even possible? In Roman times, the word was used to describe a nagging cough, even if the person didn’t cough every moment; it could still be said of them that they were still coughing. As Dallas Willard said, “the first and most basic thing we can do and must do is keep God before our minds… this is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus practising the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him.” It’s a muscle that must be developed.

In Philippians, he uses 2 words: petitions and prayer. Petitions would be asking for prayer, much like a prayer list. The word prayer has 2 parts. First part pro means exchange. It’s a marketplace word, like trading money for chickens. The 2nd part means to wish. Prayer is an exchange of wishes.

We hear this in Jesus prayer in Gethsemane. “Not will be done but yours." In other words, God here is what I want, but what do you want? The most common prayer in the New Testament isn’t about prayer lists and endless requests. The true, deeper concept is trade my wishes for your wishes. Regardless of our mood or how we might be feeling, we are invited to exchange wishes with God in prayer.