It never ends… Or does it?

Okay, here’s another ‘true life’ moment.  I grew up watching Lamb Chops Play Along with my little sister.  I’ll admit it.  Shari Lewis would get me everytime with that silly little sock puppet, Lamb Chop.  It was a show that hit PBS in the early 90’s and at the end of the show there was always a rendition of this annoying little song.  [Youtube has once again shown itself to be an invaluable resource.]  Here it is…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNTxr2NJHa0]

The song that doesn’t end.  It goes on and on my friend… and the rest of the song is history.  Or something like that.

Last night I was involved in a discussion on a verse from 1 Thessalonians 5.  It is simple.  It is short, and it is memorable.  The question is, is it possible?

Here’s 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing;”  Just like that Shari Lewis, Lamb Chop song… It never ends.  It goes on and on…

I want to hear from you… what do you think?  Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you extended periods of prayer?  Would you qualify any of your prayer times as ceaseless prayer?

This is a difficult thought.  What do you do when your sleeping?  What about when your on the phone?  How can I pray without ceasing?  There are several ideas that people have had to try and see this happen in their life.  I like what Charles Spurgeon said in his sermon, “Pray without Ceasing” on 1 Thessalonians 5:17:

First, let us labor as much as we can to prevent all sinful interruptions. “Pray without ceasing.” Then if it be impossible to be in the act of prayer always, at least let us be as much as possible in that act; and let us prevent those interruptions which I mentioned in the early part of my discourse, the interruptions occasioned by our own sin. Let us endeavor to keep clear, as far as we can, of anything and everything in ourselves, or round about us, that would prevent our abounding in supplication. And let us also keep clear of interruptions from the sins of others.

While I don’t think that sin prevents you from praying even while you are in the midst of the act of sinning, I do wonder how much more we would pray if sin were further removed from our lives.  I wonder what our prayer lives would look like if we allowed our schedule a little breathing room?  What if we so valued communication with God that we built it into our schedule?  I like how Spurgeon focus’ on removing the prayer interrupters.  That may be a great place to start.  Figure out what prevents you from praying and remove that from your life.

I am certain that prayer, and my commitment to prayer needs to be priority in my life.

What do you think?  Is it possible?  What habits have you found/created to help you spend significant times in prayer?

~Peter