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“Pray without ceasing.” Early in my pastoral ministry, I sought our more experienced and seasoned pastors. I wanted to learn what they learned. I wanted to hear how they survived and thrived through their pastoral ministries.

I remember a meeting with an experienced pastor about 20 years ago when we lived in Ottawa. He asked me about the church I served. He also inquired about my spiritual practices or habits. I confessed that one area of struggle for me was getting up early to pray. I always felt lacking in this area. We had young children at the time that often included late night feedings and disturbed sleep. So after sharing my struggles he shared about his own prayer life. I have never forgotten what he said.

“Well, I have never reached the Martin Luther standard of getting up to pray for 3 hours before my day starts; and earlier on busy days. But I pray 15 hours a day.” I was kind of shocked. How could he pray 15 hours a day while carrying out all his pastoral duties in the busy church he pastored?

Then he went on. “When I’m driving down the street and see a family out for a walk, I ask the Lord to bless that family and address the needs they have. When I see a person sitting alone on a park bench, I ask the Lord to minister to that person in their thoughts at this very moment.” He went on to give a few more examples. But he had cultivated the practice of praying without ceasing. He didn’t sit down to pray for 15 hours a day. An ongoing mental conversation with the Lord had become His regular practice.

I don’t know if I have reached the 15 hours a day of prayer level. But there are times when I offer quick prayers in the middle of a meeting or as I go to prepare a message. I pray while I’m driving (with my eyes open) sometimes for my own stuff and sometimes for others. I still need to grow in this because sometimes I forget to pray. But it’s possible to pray much more than we do even when we’re in the middle of a mess.

We especially need to pray without ceasing now. In this time of society shut down, we struggle at times to keep going amidst the uncertainty. So when we struggle we must admit it to the Lord. Offer it up to Him. Ask for help to keep going even though we don’t know when this might end. Ask for help to deal with your acting out child. Pray for the Lord to give your children a supernatural does of patience and cooperation this day. When checking social media, pray for those who express need or frustration.

My morning devotional today said “Most of us in suffering stop praying or put up a brief petition for help. But here (Psalm 44:9-16), the psalmist nearly shouts in pain, frustration and even anger to God. But the significant thing is that he does so before God, processing his grief in sustained prayer. God understands us so well that he permits, even encourages us to speak to him with uncensored hearts. (Tim Keller, Songs of Jesus, April 2, Psalm 44:9-16, 92). So pray 15 hours today and every day.

“Thank you Lord that you are available anytime and anywhere to hear our prayers. You even receive our long lists of complaints. In this you demonstrate your patience, love and care for us your children. Thank you for the invitation to unburden ourselves fully, without the need to say everything the “right way.”