"Pray without ceasing", says 1 Thessalonians 5:17. It's a brief verse, nestled in the middle of a list of final instructions from Paul to the church in Thessalonica. Easy to memorize and quote, but also apparently easy to forget.

What does it mean to pray without ceasing? I don't believe that it means that every moment of our lives -- conscious or otherwise -- should find us with head bowed in silent prayer. It's an overstatement to make the point that our lives should be characterized by frequent prayer.

In quiet moments, rather than fidgeting with our phones or checking our inbox yet again, we are to approach our Father and our Redeemer in prayer with the advocation of the Holy Spirit.

At times when we are overwhelmed with the chaos of everyday life, we should cry out to our Rock for strength, confident that He will complete in us the good work He's already begun (Phil. 1:6 ESV).

Prayer should be reflexive -- it should be our first reaction to any situation.