Unceasing Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) ¹⁶  Be joyful always; ¹⁷  pray continually; ¹⁸  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

About a year ago CNN (link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/10/28/man-cashes-pennies-hes-been-saving-45-years/74727160/  ) reported a story about Mr. Otha Anders, of Ruston, Louisiana. Mr. Anders spent 45 years bending down and collecting something most of us ignore—pennies. In October of 2015, the 73-year-old Anders, a supervisor for in-school suspended children, took them to his local bank—in 15 five-gallon jugs—and deposited a grand total of $5,136.14 worth of pennies into his account. The bank's coin machines took five hours to count the over 500,000 pennies.

But what's truly moving about this story isn't Anders' thriftiness; it's his thankfulness. Each new penny on the ground served as a prompt to give thanks to God. As Anders told reporters: “I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful. There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.”

Just think about that. Over a half a million prayers of thanksgiving to God in a lifetime. What a great idea to use a simple, small reminder to pray! I know what it’s like to go through a day so busily that I forget to pray or neglect time with the Lord. Making it a discipline helps. But having something in your life that you encounter frequently serve as a reminder to pray is such a creative and useful way think about the Lord and remember to pray. Yesterday, while on a walk, I started to pass over a penny on the street. I thought about Mr. Anders’ story and decided to make it a moment for giving thanks. A penny doesn’t make me much richer financially, but the reminder to give thanks to the Lord was of great value.

What is something you encounter regularly – even daily – that could serve you as a reminder to pray?

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (TLB) ¹  Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all he is going to do for them. ²  Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord. ³  This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴  for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth:

2 Timothy 1:3 (NIV)  I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

1 Thessalonians 3:9-10 (NIV) ⁹  How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? ¹⁰  Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Isaiah 62:6-7 (NIV) ⁶  I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, ⁷  and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

PRAYER:  Lord, it is a good thing to give thanks to you. Thank you for prayer. Thank you that you are a listening God, who lets us pray and who responds to our prayers. Let your Holy Spirit aid me and lead me to prayer that is earnest and true and unceasing. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott