Home
>
Spirituality
>
Discipline of Prayer: Always Connected

Discipline of Prayer: Always Connected

Every workday, five days a week, I take the light rail into downtown Dallas. Only last week, this routine finally taught me a lesson about prayer.

In case you're not familiar with it a light rail commuter train, it runs on 25,000 volts of alternating current. All of this electricity runs through lines suspended above the tracks. It is transmitted to the train through a spring-loaded arm called a pantograph. Once the energy is on board, it is transformed into the direct current that supplies the locomotive's motors. Without that constant supply of 25,000 volts, the train would go nowhere. That pantograph has to be in constant contact with the high-power lines.

Paul told the Thessalonians, "Pray unceasingly" (1 Thess. 5:17). Part of what that means is that we must continually stay in contact with God, who supplies us with the of spiritual power we need to keep going. In other words, wherever we go and whatever we do, we have to maintain an awareness that we are in the presence of the Almighty.

King David knew of this need. In Ps. 139:7-12, he asks: Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to You;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to You.

As a spiritual Being, on limited by time and space, God is omnipresent and omniscient. Nothing happens to us that He doesn't know about, nor is there a place we can go that is beyond His presence.

David's descendant, King Hezekiah, demonstrated his awareness of the same truth by his actions. When Sennacherib, king of Assyria, ordered that a threatening letter be read to Hezekiah and all of Jerusalem, 2 Kings 19:14 reports: "Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord." It is as if Hezekiah were saying to the Lord, " Here, read this!" Then, in the verses that follow, he asks the Lord to do something about it, and the Lord honors his request with an outstanding miracle.

It is true that devotional writers have long emphasized the spiritual discipline called "practicing the Presence." Nicholas Herman (c. 1605-1691), also known as "Brother Lawrence," in what is now known as The Practice of the Presence of God, wrote: That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. That we are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action, as by prayer in its season. That his prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at that time insensible to everything but Divine love: and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy; yet hoped that God would give him somewhat to suffer, when he should grow stronger" ("Fourth Conversation").

Such a concept has not been invented out of thin air. Jesus himself, just before ascending to the Father, promised his disciples, " I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). notice that Jesus neither says, "I was with you," nor does he say "I will be with you." he says, " I am with you always." This " I am" seems to run parallel to his statement to the unbelieving Jews: " I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58), "not I was." If the parallel is a valid one, Jesus' use of the present tense seems to signify that he is not limited by time or any other constraint on his ability to be aware of our needs and to bless. (After this thought occurred to me, I have found the same analysis in A. B. Bruce's commentary on Matthew in The Expositor's Greek Testament.)

Like the power lines strong above the light rail train, the power is always present and available. But we must make and maintain our connection with that power. With a constant awareness of God's presence, we will include him in every decision we make. We will give more care to where we go, what we do, and what we listen to, knowing that he goes with us, witnesses our actions, and hears what we hear. we will choose our words more carefully-not only the ones that express our petitions to him, but all of our words--realizing that we can not prevent him from listening to us.

And whenever we do pray, whether we offer praise, thanksgiving, petitions, confessions of Sin, or intercessions for others, a constant awareness of God's presence bolsters our confidence that he hears our prayers and will answer them according to his will. Don't let your pantograph droop. Oil its hinges, fix its spring. Stay connected.

* * *

Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles on subjects of interest to Bible students. He has been a book editor, newspaper reporter, news editor, and public relations consultant. He has taught Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses Bible college, university, and adult education programs. He has taught seminars and workshops in 11 states and the Caribbean.

Go to his deeperstudy.org for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Sign up for Steve's free "DeeperStudy Newsletter."

car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a malware app called SpyLend is posing as a financial tool, hitting 100,000-plus downloads.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says Clone Robotics’ Protoclone mimics humans with 1,000 muscles – too human for comfort.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson urges you to use Apple’s App Privacy Report to see what your apps are really up to.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how to smoothly transfer your data from an old laptop to a new one using cloud storage or external drives.

Kurt the CyberGuy offers tips to safeguard your personal information as scammers become more sophisticated with scam texts and other methods.

WeRide's unmanned electric delivery van, the Robovan W5, has 194 cubic feet of cargo space and can carry payloads up to about 2,205 pounds

Kurt the CyberGuy recommends deleting 16 browser extensions immediately in response to a report saying more than 3.2 million web users were affected by a security breach.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A robotics firm in China claims a robot has performed the world's first humanoid robot front flip, which is significantly more difficult than a backflip.

A digital ID may be even more secure than a physical ID. Storing your driver's license in your Apple Wallet is an ideal solution for commuters.

A cybersecurity firm has shed some light on just how common tax scams have become. Kurt the CyberGuy offers his advice for how to protect your refund.

Lifesize Plans offers immersive walk-throughs that allow customers the opportunity to tour a home's design before construction actually begins.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A man invested $4 million in bitcoin and lost it all with a single click when he was targeted by a vishing scam, which uses phone calls to trick people.

Expandable's Touchdown is a designer trailer that promises a luxury off-grid living experience and unfolds into a home in about 15 minutes.

Major employee screening company data breach affects 3.3 million people. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson explains what happened and gives five ways to protect your data.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals mind-blowing tech that gives you sunlight on demand.

New malware "FrigidStealer" targets Mac computers. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers four ways to stay safe from infostealer malware.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how lab-grown muscles power a biohybrid hand for scalable prosthetics and research.

Reports of task scams have significantly risen in the past four years, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some red flags.

iPhones have a hidden folder that eats up storage without you knowing it. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some tricks to free up storage on your device.

A recent ransomeware attack targeted Zacks, an American investment firm, and a cybercriminal claimed to have stolen records for millions of customers.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Researchers unveiled a new soft prosthetic hand that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column.

Accidentally deleting a text message on your iPhone or iPad is not a problem if you still need the message. Apple has a built-in way to recover it.

Discipline of Prayer: Always Connected

Spirituality