Pray Without Ceasing

As I work towards my new year's resolution to pray increasingly, I've been reading John MacAurthur's book, Alone with God: Rediscovering the Power and Passion of Prayer.  In today's reading, I was intrigued by the writing of a19th century preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon: 

Like the old knights, always in warfare, not always on their steeds dashing forward with their lances in rest to unhorse an adversary, but always wearing their weapons where they could readily reach them, and always ready to encounter wounds or death for the sake of the cause which they championed.  Those grim warriors often slept in their armor; so even when we sleep, we are still to be in the spirit of prayer, so that if perchance we wake in the night we may still be with God.  Our soul, having received the divine centripetal influence which makes it seek its heavenly center, should be evermore naturally rising towards God himself.  Our heart is to be like those beacons and watchtowers which were prepared along the coast of England when the invasion of the Armada was hourly expected, not always blazing, but with the wood always dry, and the match always there, the whole pile being ready to blaze up at the appointed moment. Our souls should be in such a condition that ejaculatory prayer should be very frequent with us.  No need to pause in business and leave the counter, and fall down upon the knees; the spirit should sent up its silent, short, swift petitions to the throne of grace... 
The soul should not always be in the exercise of prayer, but always in the energy of prayer; not always actually praying, but always intentionally praying...
I think of praying at all times as living in continual God consciousness, where everything we see and experience become a kind of prayer, lived in deep awareness of and surrender to our Heavenly Father.  It is something I share with my Best Friend- something I instantly communicate with God.  To obey this exhortation means that, when we are tempted, we hold the temptation before God and ask for His help.  When we experience something good and beautiful, we immediately thank the Lord for it.  When we see evil around us, we ask God to make it right and to allow us to help accomplish that, if it is according to His will.  When we meet someone who does not know Christ, we pray for God to draw that person to Himself and to use us as faithful witnesses.  When we encounter trouble, we turn to God as our Deliverer. 
Thus life becomes a continually ascending prayer: All life's thoughts, deeds, and circumstances become opportunities to commune with our Heavenly Father.    -Charles Haddon Spurgeon