Pray Unceasingly? A struggle to re-find God in my life.

I have for the last several months been struggling with my Christianity. Even to the point that I removed myself from teaching a Bible study. I know all the lines, verses, prayers, and answers - but in truth my relationship with God has been sliding downward! And, I finally got to the point, I needed to focus on it before I tell others what they need to do to draw closer to God. I had begun to feel like I was faking it.

I went back and started rereading things I wrote 5, 10, and 15 years ago and got to the point where I said: “Did I believe that… say that… teach that?” This led to time looking up the passages I had preached on years ago. What do they mean to me today… what lessons can I draw from them… and how would I teach them today?

One of the passages, I found in my old files, was a sermon I wrote based on:

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”

This led me to think about how much time I actually spend praying, and how often during the day I include God in what is going on. The truthful answer was not much. (Which was not a good answer for a pastor who was teaching a Bible study on Discipleship.)

In a rather desperate act, I started watching a show called “The Chosen.” I watched part of the first season a couple of years ago just to see what it was about, but this time it is different. This time I am watching it secluded from others, with the voices right in my ears (I’m using headphones so I don’t miss anything.), And I am to the point of taking notes on lessons and points like I am in a class and there is going to be a test at the end.

In several episodes the Jesus character prays this prayer before going to sleep:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids. May it be Your will, Lord my God and God of my ancestors, that I lie down in peace and that I arise in peace.” 

For some reason this prayer really hit me.

After a few days of thinking about it, I realized that even in my bedtime routine I had cut God out, replacing Him with some game on my new fancy smartphone. And then complaining to my wife or the doctor about how much trouble I was having getting to sleep, and staying asleep.

The answer was so simple- Put God back where He belongs in my life! I did and many of the issues just faded away. Now, there a few things, I still need to work through, but life does not feel like a lost cause anymore.

if this message strikes a chord with you, I hope (and pray) That maybe you will take a look at how much you are including God in your life, and maybe adding Him back in will help improve your life as well.