“That’s just a figure of speech. Of course, we cannot pray all the time!”
My father and I liked to build things together. He was the lead, and I was the helper. I thought I was going right up that ladder of competency until he passed away, and then I discovered that I was a very good follower, bereft of my leader, but we made a good team. Of course we did a lot of talking and serious planning about our projects before we started, and then, as we worked, we discussed the suitableness of the materials, we checked measurements, we did the cuts, the gluing, the nailing, the sanding, varnishing – the whole works, and then we sat back and admired the finished product. It was a good feeling of accomplishment, shared between our hearts.
As we worked, though, sometimes we talked, sometimes we discussed the project or a problem, sometimes we worked in silence. However, always our thoughts were together, and always we were conscious of the other’s presence and of what the other was doing, as well as what we were doing together. To me, that is what that beautiful verse has come to mean, as I have puzzled over it and have gone deeper into what it is saying about our relationship with our spiritual Father.
God and I are in a great building project together. He is the lead, and I am the helper. He talks to me through His Word. I talk to Him through my thoughts (prayers). No, they are not always formal prayers, on my knees. They are a continual sense of His presence and involvement in whatever we are doing together, whether it is parenting, doing physical work or spiritual work, studying with someone or just driving down the road. His ‘divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4) permeates my attitude and my response to the events of the moment; appropriate directives from His Word come to mind as I am working through a project or a problem; my thoughts to Him are real and essential communication in all that we are doing together. At night, usually I fall asleep praying. I used to feel guilty about that, but I cannot believe God would be unhappy if our last thoughts of the day are with Him.
