The Why of Prayer: Just Because

"Pray without ceasing," the apostle Paul writes (more than once). Christians have often taken this direction to represent the overwhelming of number of things we need to pray for; that is, there's so much suffering, so much pain, so much sin that we need to pray all the time to have any chance of praying for all those things.

But it seems more likely that Paul was speaking about our need to be actively engaged with God all the time -- not because we need God to do so many things for us (heal the sick, end war, get my boss off my back), but because it is good for us to be speaking with and listening to God, as much as possible.

One way to do this is to pray at specific times during the day. When the moment comes, you stop whatever you're doing and pray. This allows you to pray different prayers than you usually do because you're not praying for a need in front of your face (thank you God for this food, for example). The more you pray in different ways, the more open you can be to God when God has something to tell you.

Today's Prayer Prompt: Pick a random time to pray later today. (Set the alarm on your watch or phone if you need a reminder.) When the time comes, set aside what you're doing and pray.