Last week we looked at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17: "Be joyful always, pray continuously." I posed the question, "how is this possible?" This week, I want to take a closer look at the command to "pray continuously." You may have asked yourself how such a thing was even possible. Some of you may even be wondering what these two words really mean?

After many years of asking these very questions, I have come to believe that prayer is something that can take place every moment of every day, and you don't have to quit your day job or build a prayer room on the side of your house to live in prayer 24/7. The bottom line is that it all comes down to having a relationship with Christ that is real and active. It is a relationship that you must invest in while realizing there's more to prayer than just the receiving end.

Praying continuously is a rather daunting task, especially to someone who is not that familiar with prayer in the first place. But when you realize that prayer is simply communication with God, it simplifies the entire process.

Think about the most important relationship in your life right now. It might be your spouse, your parents, siblings or some other relative. It may even be a very close friend. Now think about how and what you communicate with them when you are facing life changing decisions, financial troubles or family issues. How do would talk about a great weekend at the lake, winning the lottery, getting a new car or even losing 10 pounds? We share the accumulation of life's little and big events to someone at some point. This is how we build relationships, transforming surface relationships into intimate friendships. As a result, this process causes us to become invested in the lives of others while continuously building trust.

These same principles apply to our relationship with Christ. To start with, a relationship with Christ has to exist. In order to have a relationship with anyone, you have to communicate, and prayer is our primary means of communication with God. Praying continuously is simply being mindful and letting God know what is going on in your life all day long. That does not mean that you get down on your knees every 5 minutes to give God an update. It means you begin letting God know about the decisions you are facing and asking for His input. It is telling Him when you are frustrated with what is happening at that very moment of the day, or even something that has been building for a week. It is giving Him thanks and praise when you see how he has blessed you in the most miraculous or simple ways. Praying continuously is involving Christ in all of your life and allowing him to guide you through your day, knowing that He is there in the good and bad and then sharing and communicating throughout the day with Him.

All of this communication doesn't have to take hours. You can talk to him while you are driving, typing, on the phone, at lunch, in a meeting, brushing your teeth, cooking dinner or whatever else you are doing. The point is to ensure that God is in involved in your life.

Continuous Prayer does not have to be a scary or intimidating task. It is investing in a relationship and allowing God's influence in your life. Start building on your relationship with Christ by remembering that He is with you all throughout your day and that no task or decision is too small to ask Him about. Also, nothing is too insignificant to praise Him for. For more on continuous prayer look up these scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:13; Romans 1:9-10; Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 1:3; 1 Timothy 1:3.

Final Thought: Communication builds trust and influence. Take God with you to work today and trust that his influence will strengthen you as you share your life with Him. Just let Him in.