Prayer: Persevering because It Is Possible

Prayer: Persevering because It Is Possible
Scott Lyons
8/25/2013
We can and should pray always because it is always possible to pray. We live in the risen Christ, the One who is always with us, and because of his constant presence we can pray at any time. And if we can, we should. Stanislaus Kostka, a Polish Jesuit, wrote in a letter to his friend Ernest, "I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms." Everything, no matter how mundane or mean, can be not only an occasion for prayer but also a prayer in itself, a liturgy to God if offered up as such. This is true even, I suspect, with the laundry.

As a stay-at-home dad, I have occasionally joked, "Must I feed the children today?" But while I say it with tongue in cheek, the weight of something even so small as making lunch becomes on some days burdensome. Our love wanes in the exhaustion of the "never-ending." But we can take these daily demands and find God in their repetition, like a prayer or a poem. It must be an intentional thing, rising up from the heart, a conscious taking up of this cross for the other. And when we offer it to God in prayer and in love, this seemingly small thing becomes a beautiful work that stretches out into eternity.

We Christians pray too little. We pray too infrequently. We offer too little of ourselves to the One who gives all of himself. Our minds should always be turning toward Christ in prayer, not merely because we are desperate for his mercy and presence but because he is the lover of our souls. He made us. He saved us. He continues to save us. He draws us into his very life, into that perfect communion of his love.

Every encounter we have is an occasion for prayer. When Peter and the apostles were arrested and whipped, they “left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus” (Acts 5:41, NLT). And Paul, while living under house arrest, wrote to the Philippians, saying, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy” (Philippians 1:3-4, NLT). So should our lives be. When your friend or spouse enters the room, give thanks to God for them. When you see the sunset, give thanks to God for it. For rain and sun, for cold and heat—in all things and at all times, bless the Lord. We should delight in the glory of everything, giving glory to God for all things so that his praise is always on our lips.

Even when trials come, Paul says that we should give thanks to God (1 Thessalonians 5:18). James tells us to consider them as opportunities for joy (James 1:2) because these sufferings and trials are friends and teachers who, if we are willing, can lead us to Christ.

Prayer should always be on our lips. We must ask God that we might see.

As I write this article, I am in the middle of a national forest in Michigan. The silence is heavy and beautiful. The endless Michigan skies stretch above and through the leaves of oaks and maples. It is easy to bless God for such beauty as can be found in Michigan forests and on the shores of the Great Lakes. But I will not always be here.

You may not be somewhere beautiful now. Maybe you are taking a break from laundry or are weighed down by the stresses and worries of life, which are many. Stand up for a moment and raise up your hands in prayer and bless God for all that he has done and is doing in your life. He loves you and is faithful. Open yourself to his grace, and though you are in the middle of suffering, recognize the One who walks beside you and who shepherds you. And bless him: “The King of Love my Shepherd is / Whose goodness faileth never, / I nothing lack if I am His / And He is mine forever” (Henry W. Baker).