Day 1: Pray Without Ceasing
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Welcome to Day 1 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge! I'm so thankful you're here.
If you've been around my blog for very long at all, you know that prayer is my number one recommended action when it comes to handling hardship. So it should come as no surprise that it's the first step in our challenge.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we're commanded to "pray without ceasing." That seems like a huge undertaking, and it is. And when put into the context of praying without ceasing during a time of crisis, well, it seems insurmountable.
But my goal is to encourage you, not to overwhelm you.
If you're new to prayer, start small. Pray first thing in the morning when you wake up; before your meals; and before bed. Those are pretty standard routines for almost everyone, so they're easy places to start adding in prayer.
If you have an active prayer life already, you can always go deeper. If you need some ideas, there are some excellent pins on my prayer Pinterest board. Or you can read about my new discovery on prayer right here. I pray a lot throughout the day, but for this challenge, I want to commit to purposeful prayer every morning instead of my usual way of praying haphazardly as prayer requests come to mind.
I would also challenge you to start your prayers with praise and thanksgiving to God for Who He is and what He's done for you (sending His Son to die in your place, giving you life, caring for you) before asking Him to remove the trial at hand. Or, if He's already brought you through your most recent trial, praise Him for sustaining you and for what He taught you during the hard season.
Even though the commandment to pray without ceasing may seem impossible, we can cultivate a constant attitude of prayer where we're willing to pray at a moment's notice. We can develop the habit of turning to the Lord in prayer for any and every circumstance.
If you need more inspiration, be sure to visit ArabahJoy.com. Arabah encourages Christians to pray through the promises of God's Word. A pop-up should appear on her page where you can sign up for her next Praying the Promises challenge.
Prayer is an amazing gift that the Lord has given to us as believers. Because of Christ's work on the cross, we have direct access to the Father through Jesus! We no longer need a priest to intercede on our behalf, because Christ has done it all. That right there is cause for celebration, and it's the first step toward praising God during a hallway.
Today's action steps: Choose a time to spend in prayer. This could be in the morning when you first get up, in the afternoon when your little ones are asleep, or whenever it fits into your schedule. Remember to thank the Lord for His blessings!
Don't forget to check in tomorrow, when we'll talk about the benefits of memorizing Scripture.
