Pray Without Ceasing!

My father taught me many Truths, but none more profound than the simple Truth by which he and my mother lived.

“Prayer is the Biggest Power we’ve got.”

My parents were praying people. They prayed on their knees. I got up many mornings to find my father kneeling beside his favorite chair in the living room and my mother kneeling by their bed. They were in separate parts of the house, but locked in a Divine Unity with God that enfolded us all.

My father would get up from his prayers, covered with Grace and say, “It would take more than 24 hours a day to thank The Lord for all of His Many Blessings. Thank The Lord over and over again!”

Speaking of Grace, they did. Before each meal, they did not say “the blessing.” They said “Grace.” And they did not just say it. They prayed it. They truly thanked God for their many blessings.

Before our evening meal, my mother read the devotional of the day from the Upper Room, which always included a prayer. And then we prayed The Lord’s Prayer together. Today, anytime I pray The Lord’s Prayer, I feel transported back to the kitchen table at home.

The spirit of thankfulness extended beyond just a meal. I remember the delight with which my father would enjoy a slice of fresh apple pie and exclaim, “Good old apple pie! Thank The Lord!”

Their prayers connected our family. When my brother went away to college, he was as much a part of the family as if he were still at home. Every night when my mother prayed with me, she would also pray for my brother.

She would end by saying, “Let’s throw him a kiss goodnight.” She would point in the general direction of his college, and we would blow kisses of blessings. We believed in The Power of God’s Spirit to deliver them.

Today I live far away from my brother, and my parents live in Heaven. But when I pray at night, I throw them kisses and I believe The Holy Spirit delivers them and joins us together.

My parents prayed for others often. They knew they were not powerful enough to meet every need, but they were blessed to know The One Who could. So they “plugged in” to that Power to intercede for others.

They believed in being called to prayer.
When they heard a siren from police, fire or ambulance, they prayed for the ones responding and the ones being responded to.

Their prayers carried our family through good times and bad. Life gave us each challenges. My parents prayed us through every one, sometimes right at our side and sometimes, unknown to us.

Wherever we were, in whatever circumstance, The Extra Power that flowed from The Throne of Grace had been called forth by our praying parents/grandparents/great grandparents (They were all.).

They faced various trials, as they neared the finish line of Life. But their prayers of gratitude and complete faith that God would provide never ceased.

When they could no longer go to their knees, they prayed from their beds. They continued to pray Grace at meals. My father even prayed over his puréed food in the nursing home, “Thank You, Lord, for this food … whatever it is.”

When my mother was near the end, she turned to my father and said, “God has provided for us all of our lives. How could we do anything but trust Him now.” And they held hands and prayed.

After my mother died, my father was in deep grief. But he never gave up. He continued in faith, praying for all, and just as connected with her as He ever was through The Power of Prayer.

After he died, one of his nurses talked about how powerfully he gave thanks for everything they did and everything he received. I could imagine him saying, “Thank The Lord, over and over again!”

When I look at the ever extending line of our family, I realize how far the Godly witness of my parents has gone. Their prayers went before us, sustained us and go before us now, as part of that “great cloud of witnesses.”

It is now my Joy to pray for each of you who read these words. I trust God to bring these words to you at just the right moment. May you always know the joy of connecting with The Lord through Prayer!

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is The Will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

(Pictures of me, as a child, and now)