God with Us, in Our Thoughts

What is prayer if not a continual conversation with God? That’s the thread of life: to know God in our thoughts, through constant and conscious reflection.

This is a discipline of focused mindfulness, achievable for the well rested mind, and a heart devoted to the Divine. It is something to be aspirational about if we are still grappling with this notion of prayer filling our lives, when we may battle to pray at all.

But true prayer is not just the spoken variety. God’s design for prayer is a seamless line of communication where we might be consciously mindful of God in both our going out and coming home, always.

What are the features and advantages of nurturing this sense of conscious mindfulness with God we call prayer?

It’s firstly the greatest spiritual protection against the wiles of the enemy. Wherever the Light lives, darkness cannot abide.

Secondly, it is comfort to know most assuredly that God is with us, in our conflict, rejection, and embarrassments. Through prayers of repentance, forgiveness, and in receipt of God’s grace—all via the manner of continuous mental reframing—we can receive our comfort.

Thirdly, it’s about a humble confidence that we finally ‘get’ prayer. We own the injunction of 1 Thessalonians 5:17. We incorporate God in all our thinking and, therefore, we pray authentically and ceaselessly. What we once thought as an impossible thing to sustain—the ability to pray verbally, non-stop—now finally makes sense. Prayer is a constant mindful connection with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.

Fourthly, in reordering our thought through the Divine filter we have access to the Spirit’s leading and, therefore, to wisdom. Not that we will know it all, or be right all the time. Far from it! But we will be more thoroughly relational, especially by our honesty to own our mistakes.

Fifthly, we have the ability to take courage by many manners of obedience as we engage in the moral mindfulness of prayer. Connected to the Spirit, we are convicted strongly to act in certain ways; our thinking is transformed; we begin to feel as God would have us feel.

Sixthly, we have intimacy with God or, otherwise, knowledge of God. We are “hid with Christ in God” through our devotedness of thought.

Seventhly, and finally, we know of blessedness by the continuity of communicative flow with the Divine. This means our intimacy with God brings us closer to having experiences of true oneness with ourselves.

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Prayer is a constant mindful connection with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.

The best of prayer is a continual thought life connected to God.

When we are mindful of God every waking moment we are blessed with protection, comfort, a humble confidence, the situation’s wisdom, courage to obey, intimacy with God, and oneness with ourselves.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.