PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
A friend was driving me to the Atlanta airport. I was sharing with him my experience with the verse, “Pray without ceasing” plus “Rejoice always.” It was 4:00 p.m. and up to then I had enjoyed the day. It had turned out as I had prayed.
We arrived at the airport early so we sat in the car and talked a while. I said good-bye to my friend, entered the airport, and presented my ticket to the attendant at the desk. My destination was Asheville, where I was to speak at a nearby conference center that night. The attendant informed me that the flight had just left, and there were no more flights to Asheville until morning. I was stunned. My watch showed plenty of time: my watch had stopped!
I quickly called the center in Asheville and told them what had happened. They had already dispatched a driver to drive sixty miles to pick me up: He would surely need some joy when he discovered I was not there. And as for me, I ended up praying and rejoicing all alone in a motel room in Atlanta.
The evening alone was enjoyable. God gave me no clue as to why this happened. He was silent. Yet, this was a rare day when I trusted and rejoiced all day.
The next morning I was at the airport bright and early. The plane was scheduled to arrive in time for me to easily make my speech in Asheville at 11:00 a.m. As I waited for the plane to load, I rehearsed my two Bible verses: “Rejoice always,” plus “Pray without ceasing.” The plane was full and took off on time. It was only a half hour flight, and soon we felt the plane head downward. What a good feeling. Then we felt the plane head up again. The speaker system came on: “This is the captain speaking. I regret to tell you that there is fog in Asheville; we are going to land in Johnson City.”
With that announcement, one could hear murmuring throughout the airplane. Most of the polite, nicely dressed passengers became visibly unhappy. One well-groomed man bawled out the flight attendant because there was fog in Asheville.
I was rehearsing my verses and, strangely enough, contentedly watching God work. We landed in Johnson City. Our planeload of mostly disgusted passengers descended on a hapless ticket agent behind the counter who had just heard the bad news himself. One nice looking man banged his fist on the counter and moaned, “I want to get to Asheville.”
As for me, I ran to a phone to call the Center to tell them I wouldn’t be there at 11:00 a.m. Unfortunately, the poor driver who was to meet me last night had already left for the Asheville airport. For the second time, the conference director had no speaker. The men at the Conference Center and the driver needed a good supply of trust and joy for this day also.
Meanwhile, Henry Brandt was rehearsing his verses: “Pray without ceasing,” plus “Rejoice always.” The ticket agent behind the counter looked quite harried. I felt sorry for him, so I went up to him and told him I was also a passenger. I encouraged him to process me last and I would hover in the background and give him moral support. He looked at me as though I was drunk. What was a cheerful, relaxed, supportive person doing here?
It took an hour and a half for the agent to line up micro-busses to transport us to Asheville. One by one the busses left with a load of disgruntled passengers. I was the only one left. He motioned me forward and said, “I’m sorry, I’m out of busses. But I do have a limousine out there, and if you don’t mind, I will send you to Asheville in it.” “I don’t mind,” I said. We went outside and there sat a long, black Chrysler limousine. I sat in the back seat and motioned the chauffeur to proceed. Soon we caught up to the first bus. I waved happily as we passed.
That is the way it goes. Sometimes the day turns out as we had planned. Often it doesn’t.
Prayer is just talking to God with our mouth or with our heart. How is it possible to pray without ceasing? Does this mean that one stops doing everything else and just continuously talks to God? What would you talk about? Do you ignore your family and friends? What about going to work and interacting with the people there? Going shopping? Going visiting? This verse surely can’t mean what it says.
I can commit my day into God’s hands. I can tell him what I want to have happen. I can compare what happens with what my requests were. Then whatever happens, I can depend on a living God to look after me and I can trust Him to give me a day’s supply of joy. Life may not always make sense, but I can always trust Him.
It is never dull talking with God because his plans are always different and better than ours:
This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.
Isaiah 55:8-9, LB
The third verse I chose to work on had four words in it:
In everything give thanks.
1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV
In everything? When your car won’t start? Tire is flat? Your partner is fifteen minutes late? You are being ignored at home?