Continuing from a previous post on prayer, Larry W. Tippetts from his book ‘Receiving Personal Revelation’ shared:
The command to “pray always” is found at least twenty-five times in the standard works. What does it mean to “pray always” or “pray continually”? And why does the Lord ask us to do so? Perhaps developing the mental discipline of meditation or pondering—any kind of thought activity that includes a connection with God—can help us to pray always. Such thought-prayer can be nearly constant and need not involve words. Even when we are thinking of other things, prayer is present when a heart is always turned toward God. “Prayer is the soul’s desire, uttered and unexpressed” (Hymns, no. 145). Prayerful thinking can be done while walking, commuting, exercising or anytime our mind is not otherwise occupied. One of my students came up with a nice analogy to describe continuous prayer. “Perhaps pray always is like a pilot light, a silent burning inside that is always ready to jump into full flame as God prompts or leads us.”
As I was thinking about this principle of praying always, it occurred to me that for disciples of Christ, our living simply ought to be an extension of our worship. Since worship is a form of prayer, our living becomes a prayer. I believe the highest form of worship is the way I live my life every day. The way I act, think, and speak in any setting is a form of prayer. The foundation of spiritual growth is to keep God constantly before our minds. (“Look unto me in every thought” [Doctrine and Covenants 6:36].) This will require a challenging but joyful mental and spiritual focus that makes him more and more a part of every thought, every feeling, every action. Somewhere I read that a disciplined mind will return to God just like the needle of a compass returns to true north, regardless of how the compass is moved.
From his journal, Larry then shared regarding brooding: “This week in my classes on personal revelation I have been teaching the importance of pondering, contemplation, and meditation as a form of prayer. It struck me that a form of pondering that I engage in too often might better be labeled brooding. The dictionary defines brood as ‘to think or worry persistently or moodily.’ It seems that is a less productive form of meditation; it carries with it a negative mindset akin to worrying. I feel a kind of heaviness when I brood. I need to be aware of this subtle distinction. ~Larry W. Tippetts, Receiving Personal Revelation (Covenant Communications Inc. American Fork, UT 2017) 82-83
