Praying while sitting on the pot (serious question)

A Realist said:

..now I have to poke out my mind's eye with a stick......thanks....

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LOL!

Dave-W said:

Again the sense is the same. Pray and keep doing it every day. Not that you are praying 24/7. That is a very modern interpretation.

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oh ok, it seemed like you were disagreeing with the poster who wrote pray always..... They and the scripture states to pray always.......the 24/7 was added by you.

I happen to know that we do pray 24/7 whether we know it or not........I view these verses as teaching us to monitor these prayers and to pray consciously........Watch as well as pray.

John P. Alexander said:

No it isn't. Orthodox Christians, and especially monks, have taken "pray without ceasing" to mean to literally always pray for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. Monks pray the Jesus Prayer at all times throughout the day, consistently and constantly, inwardly or outwardly, to the point of their heart beating with the prayer and it being on their lips upon waking.

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But that does not happen when they sleep.
So according to that interpretation, they cease every time they go to bed.

Dave-W said:

But that does not happen when they sleep.
So according to that interpretation, they cease every time they go to bed.

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Says you.

Point is, you're wrong about it being modern. It's very ancient.

RaymondG said:

They and the scripture states to pray always.......the 24/7 was added by you.

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Always in the modern sense = 24/7

Mathetes66 said:

I Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, 17pray continually (without ceasing), 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Eph 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

Romans 14:22,23 Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Verses to consider.

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Indeed. Consider that they were all written by Paul who learned prayer from a Jewish perspective. Does the modern concept of an unbroken 24/7 string of prayer fit the Jewish model he would have had in mind?

Mountainmanbob said:

We see that often around here.
Serious question or topic discussed
and what some think to be funny response.
Key point ( some think).
M-Bob

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Sorry, bud....I'm of the opinion that some things should remain private.

John P. Alexander said:

No it isn't. Orthodox Christians, and especially monks, have taken "pray without ceasing" to mean to literally always pray for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

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I will concede to your understanding of that. I am unfamiliar with Orthodox Christianity. My contact with the ancient traditions comes from the Catholic church and friends I have there.

Mountainmanbob said:

You are correct.
More times than I can count.
I'm at ease.
Thank you,
Bob

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God bless you, Bob.

Mountainmanbob said:

Not an easy question to ask but,
I'm going for it.

I do a lot of praying while sitting on the pot in the morning.

Been doing this for many years.

Starting to wonder if this may be disrespectful?

Something almost always included in these prayers is a thank you that everything is working good down here. As we get older we understand what a blessing it is to have good working body parts.

A serious question asked.
Curious regarding your thoughts.

Have a blessed day,
Bob

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Paul says to pray without ceasing. I pray in the loo too, only sitting, not kneeling.

Mountainmanbob said:

Not an easy question to ask but,
I'm going for it.

I do a lot of praying while sitting on the pot in the morning.

Been doing this for many years.

Starting to wonder if this may be disrespectful?

Something almost always included in these prayers is a thank you that everything is working good down here. As we get older we understand what a blessing it is to have good working body parts.

A serious question asked.
Curious regarding your thoughts.

Have a blessed day,
Bob

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I don't see an issue but if you feel it may be controversial then it's probably something you can keep between you and God so as not to offend anything (online forums are too abstract and are different)

I pray on a 110 cc moped that I use daily to get to where I want to go. I have a difficult time focusing with praying and finding the time at home with a young family and I found myself praying or going through thoughts while on my moped getting to a place to place. So I surrendered to it and now schedule this time in and just drive around and pray until I'm finished. For some reason, the concentration needed to drive and pray at the same time works for me and I also do it with my kids riding with me.

Prayer for me has turned into something that sometimes doesn't happen to something that is a regular part of my day and as much as it's odd to see a moped as your prayer place it's what works. So for you, prayer works in these habits for you and if you remove them what might happen is it's not replaced so it leaves a void. Better just to stick to what works.

"Again the sense is the same. Pray and keep doing it every day. Not that you are praying 24/7. That is a very modern interpretation."

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I might offer some thoughts on this.

All those Scriptures about praying continually, at all times, always, etc. do NOT say to just 'keep doing it every DAY.' You have added that. Nor does it say you are to pray 24/7. Again another addition.

HELPS Word-studies
89 adialeíptōs (an adverb, derived from 1 /A "not," 1223 /diá, "across" and 3007 /leípō, "to leave") – properly, nothing left between, i.e. without any unnecessary interval (time-gap).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 89: ἀδιαλείπτως

ἀδιαλείπτως, adverb, without intermission, incessantly, assiduously: Romans 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2

Though a man cannot be incessantly praying in words, in the spirit of our minds, we may be held continuously in an attitude of prayer, even in sleep (Song of Solomon 5:2). I have known of people who have prayed while in a coma, unconscious & quoting Scripture. I have many times prayed while asleep, especially in attacks from the enemy & cried out to God for protection & waking up, knowing what had happened. I have also quoted Scripture while asleep, with witnesses verifying it.

It is impossible to be always on our bended knees, but we may be in the spirit of prayer when engaged in the duties of our earthly calling. Prayer may be without ceasing in the heart which is full of the presence of God, and evermore communing with him.

The Holy Spirit indwells us continuously & if there is something to pray about at any time, He will prompt us. I have been awakened out of sleep by the Holy Spirit to pray for others or remember praying for others while asleep.

Have no anxiety about anything but in everything make your requests known unto God. When we walk in fellowship with the Lord, our spirit is in communion with the Holy Spirit. I am continuing to talk to the Lord in circumstances or He is talking to me all throughout the day & night--praying (present infinitive) at all times in the Spirit...

It is not a matter of praying each day in a devotional & then going and doing what we want, but walking in the light & fellowship with our Lord, as if He is walking beside us, going through our days & nights WITH US.

That is what the disciples literally did in a physical sense, having Jesus there with them, whatever they were doing & communicating with Him. We know have it in a spiritual sense.

I am of course allowing for human distractions that happen to us all, or being out of fellowship with the Lord in times of sinning until we repent & confess our sins. God desires continual communion & fellowship, walking in His light & joy & thanksgiving.

As Brother Lawrence showed: it is 'practicing the presence of our Lord' continuously, no matter what we are engaged in.

I remember seeing a video of E. Orthodox priests in a monastery, where they were interviewed & priests there had been practicing their faith for centuries in the same manner. The interviewer questioned one priest whether he could continually commune with the Lord, even during the interview & he said that, "Of course. I am doing that now."

So I would differ with you that it is a modern interpretation. That is just my understanding & practice.

Mountainmanbob said:

A serious question asked.

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Yes that is an issue. We can look Children of Israel when they lived in the wilderness for 40 years. The camp site was in the shape of a foot because the toilets were to be that far away from where their tent was. That is the furthest they were allowed to travel on the Sabbath is to the toilet. Then they had the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. This was Holy ground were they went to pray and to worship God and all their other observances. All of this has been established as a pattern for us to follow.

Mountainmanbob said:

Not an easy question to ask but,
I'm going for it.

I do a lot of praying while sitting on the pot in the morning.

Been doing this for many years.

Starting to wonder if this may be disrespectful?

Something almost always included in these prayers is a thank you that everything is working good down here. As we get older we understand what a blessing it is to have good working body parts.

A serious question asked.
Curious regarding your thoughts.

Have a blessed day,
Bob

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My gracious Bob you sure can be a hoot.

It's the sincerity of the prayer that matters not the location where you're making the prayer.

Mountainmanbob said:

Not an easy question to ask but,
I'm going for it.

I do a lot of praying while sitting on the pot in the morning.

Been doing this for many years.

Starting to wonder if this may be disrespectful?

Something almost always included in these prayers is a thank you that everything is working good down here. As we get older we understand what a blessing it is to have good working body parts.

A serious question asked.
Curious regarding your thoughts.

Have a blessed day,
Bob

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I don't see it as a problem. Sometimes I pray in the shower.

Mountainmanbob said:

Not an easy question to ask but,
I'm going for it.

I do a lot of praying while sitting on the pot in the morning.

Been doing this for many years.

Starting to wonder if this may be disrespectful?

Something almost always included in these prayers is a thank you that everything is working good down here. As we get older we understand what a blessing it is to have good working body parts.

A serious question asked.
Curious regarding your thoughts.

Have a blessed day,
Bob

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I believe the grace of God in Christ tolerates such things. But I give you these verses from the OT for perspective.

Deu 23:12 Set up a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet area.
Deu 23:13 And make sure that you have a small shovel in your equipment. When you go out to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig a hole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the waste in the hole.
Deu 23:14 You must keep your camp clean of filthy and disgusting things. The LORD is always present in your camp, ready to rescue you and give you victory over your enemies. But if he sees something disgusting in your camp, he may turn around and leave.

AlexDTX said:

I believe the grace of God in Christ tolerates such things. But I give you these verses from the OT for perspective.

Deu 23:12 Set up a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet area.
Deu 23:13 And make sure that you have a small shovel in your equipment. When you go out to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig a hole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the waste in the hole.
Deu 23:14 You must keep your camp clean of filthy and disgusting things. The LORD is always present in your camp, ready to rescue you and give you victory over your enemies. But if he sees something disgusting in your camp, he may turn around and leave.

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That's kinda the feeling I got when I was praying the other day, so I decided to leave my prayers out of the bathroom area.