Endless Prayer Sandwich - Hold the Nay-O

My friend and spiritual sister, Rosanne, recently wrote the following in an email to me:

I’m not always consistent these days with a quiet time, but I find my daily life is one constant prayer to the Father to sustain me, provide my immediate needs, get me through the busy moments of mothering/homeschooling five children, wisdom to train my older ones, etc.  I don’t know how anyone makes it through the day without a constant dialogue with the Father.  Does that count as a devotional?  I think so.  Trying to live my life as a constant worship to Him….do not always succeed but I have a goal. 

Does it count? Only for eternity.  When believers learn to pray and worship as we go and as we do, we've learned to pray without ceasing and how to commune with our Father.  We've learned to taste and see that the Lord is good by building and biting into the best thing on  any day's menu: the Endless Prayer Sandwich presented in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

16Always be joyful.

17 Never stop praying.

18 Give thanks no matter what happens. God wants you to thank Him because you believe in Christ Jesus.

On the Bread of Life we slather a joyful spirit which says,  "God, I trust You. 
I believe what You say. I know You love me and I love You. I don't have to be anxious because You're listening and You already know the ins and outs and everything needed."

Next comes a pile of prayer - a thin-shaven stack of small prayers concerning  everything and everyone in our day.  Non-stop praying says, "God, You're always with me. You don't clock in or clock out, and neither will I.  You care about every aspect of this day and You're always working in every detail, always in control and reigning, even in the messy moments."

Finally, heap on the gratitude - even when the request we lay before the Lord presses painfully on our spirits.  Our thanks may be the most precious ingedient we add as it is produced from fresh faith in Jesus.  If we're still using the same examples of God's faithfulness from 20 years ago, we imply God hasn't worked in our lives since then.  Stale faith leaves a bad taste, but gratitude for answers yet unseen keeps us looking up, watching for how He'll work in His way and His time.

"Spend a lot of time in prayer. Always be watchful and thankful."

Colossians 4:2

With these simple ingredients stacked onto God's Faithfulness and held together in Christ - the Bread of Life - we have all we need to lead nourished, godly lives. No secret ingredients in this sandwich.

                                 "God’s power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life.

All of that has come to us because we know the One who chose us.

He chose us because of His own glory and goodness.

He has also given us His very great and valuable promises.
He did it so you could share in His nature.
He also did it so you could escape from the evil in the world.
That evil is caused by sinful longings."

2 Peter 1:3-4

Lord, we empty life and make it hard when You intended it to be filled and delicious.  Today, we come to You with joyful spirits because we recognize Your Presence with us means Power for what we face. Thank You for the promise of You with us, always.  Thank You for the people we'll see today and help us stop and really see them.  May we realize You've crossed our paths to bless, to work.  Thank You for the work and ministry at our fingertips.  Thank You for the messy moments that remind us how much we need You in the moment.  May we never only delegate a chunk of time to You, but help us learn to make our lives one endless prayer and worship service. 
In the Name of Jesus, Bread of Life, Word Who holds all things together



In Plain Sight

We hid many of Nick's Christmas presents in plain sight this year. Every day for two weeks he walked by a scantily clad marshmallow shooter sitting on a shelf in the garage. His ukelele, head up and hushed, hid among tennis rackets. His new workout equipment lay in a bin by the door. Gifts exposed, but undetected.

A friend shared how the power outages from a recent ice storm here in Arkansas drove her three-year-old television-deprived child into her lap for a long conversation in front of the fire.  They quietly conversed and he fell asleep in her arms.  Mother and child, sharing the space of a house, yet driven close to be blessed by the chill. 

Romans 1 declares God "hides" in plain sight, yet people refuse to see Him, acknowledge Him, crawl into His lap, or even thank Him.

"The truth about God is plain to them.

God has made it plain.

Ever since the world was created

it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen.

I’m talking about His eternal power and about the fact that He is God.

Those things can be seen in what He has made.

So people have no excuse for what they do.

They knew God. But they didn’t honor Him as God.

They didn’t thank Him. Their thinking became worthless.

Their foolish hearts became dark.

They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves.

Romans 1:19-22



God, Immanuel, plainly present with us, should inspire our worship and gratitude. Sadly, we prefer to stay busily distracted. Our foolish hearts darken with overdoses of gadgets and lesser goals. Outside, stars wink God's love to us but instead of winking back, we move indoors to listen to the puny opinions of people who don't acknowledge Him or know Him. Trees raise their branches in praise to their Creator, yet we fail to thank Him for life. While Love waits to wrap us and rock us, we love what doesn't love back. 

Lord, don't let us miss what's in plain sight or waste another opportunity to see You, to praise You, to worship You, to thank You.  We lift our hands and hearts to say "Glory to the God of all that is - Who created gift after gift placed in plain sight."  Thank You for families, jobs, shelter, love, hugs, kisses, closeness, friends, working bodies, functioning brains, changes in weather, books, pets, covers, heat, windows, wood, taste buds, water, and babies. Just counting the blessings in plain sight lightens loads and opens eyes to see more of You. 

In the Name of Jesus, Immanuel!