Being thankful sparks our memory. And sandwiched between these commands to rejoice and to be thankful is to pray without ceasing. Maybe the point is not that we should be in quiet reflection, like a monk in a cell. Indeed, I want to challenge us to redefine the way we think of prayer. The point is that prayer is not something you do and then not do.
Prayer is a way of life, it sustains life - like breathing .
It's the awareness that you bring to life, of your whole life being in a continual conversation with God. Prayer is being in the presence of God. It is handing all of your life over to God - your thoughts and feelings, your fears and your tears, your guilt and your shame, your regrets and your wrongs, your hopes and dreams. It is the awareness that you do not exist alone, but that your life is being gathered up into the wider life of the Living God. It doesn't matter.