Pray without ceasing

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Sebin takes her nap at around 11 o’clock in the morning and she does it involuntarily. I mean, she hates going to sleep. But as parents we know that if she doesn’t take that nap she will give us a hard time for the rest of the day. So the task is to put her to sleep at that time. When she goes to sleep, she just doesn’t sleep. Sebin insists that I sleep with her. Now that is a problem for me because: 1) I don’t feel sleepy at all and 2) I have things to do. If I say no, she’ll start crying and refuse to sleep until I come upstairs.

At last I give in and come upstairs. I can’t sit in the room to watch her sleep, because she won’t sleep. I have to tuck myself into the bed and only then Sebin lies down next to me. I close my eyes, pretending to sleep because if I don’t, Sebin won’t either (eventually I fall asleep for about 10 minutes). Sebin will play on her own, and she would soon fall asleep, too. Once I know that she is sleeping, I quietly get up so that I can sneak out of the room. The key is to be quiet, otherwise Sebin would get up, too! Mission accomplished. Does this experience sound familiar to some of you?

When you listen to this, you might think that I must be the happiest dad in the world since Sebin wants me when she takes a nap! The truth is that Sebin looks for me only when she wants/needs something. Such as taking a nap, wanting snacks, going potty, etc. The rest of the times it’s a no-no. When I ask for a hug or a kiss, she says, “No!” I don’t know where she learn to say that but I get rejected most of the times unless she needs me.

Do we do that when we pray? Do we only pray when we are in need? Is prayer our emergency exit? When God asks us to pray without ceasing, it tells us that God really wants to be with us all the time, not only when we need Him. You know that it’s a joy to be with your family all the time. Remember that God is your Father and He looks forward to being with you all the time.