Pray without ceasing...even in song

It's been an amazing 9 months since returning to God and to the Faith.  So many things have changed, and too many have remained the same; I pray that the the things that have remained the same change and grow, instead of deteriorating.  Sometimes, growth is in not falling!

I want to pray more. I want to pray better. This is truly what I hope to accomplish: pray without ceasing. 
 I want to pray when I awake, when I fall asleep; I want to pray without actively 'seeking' to pray.  I want to have the interior constant conversation with God.  When I awake in the mornings, my first thought is sometimes, 'What time is it? Can I sleep a little longer? What 'me' thing do I need to attend to?'  I wish to pray immediately, but my first thought....ME. Ugh. That's not good.  However, lately I've been waking up, and I hear a song in my heart, in my head. Is it Bon Jovi or Halestorm? No. I've been blessed to wake up to a song of the Lord.  It might be contemporary Christian, or a modern hymn, or a traditional hymn.  I don't listen to music as I fall asleep, but every day I do listen to at least a little contemporary Christian music (K-Love, Air1, etc.) .At first, I'd been trying to put it out of my mind, in order to pray.  Then I've remembered something I've always said, and heard others say: Singing is praying twice.  The song in my heart IS a prayer.  What a great gift!  I don't wake up thinking, "What song should I sing this morning?"  I wake up and it's there!  I don't usually wake up with the beginning of the song in my heart, so I like to think that I started praying/singing even before awaking; perhaps the angels were singing it to me as I lay sleeping in the morning.  I want this song to be the prayer before my prayers, the intro to my day and to my prayers to God.  Perhaps this song that I hear in the morning should be the theme of my day....

Oh my Lord, thank you so much for the song, and the revelation that I am praying upon awakening! Each morning, You awaken my soul, Your Spirit who dwells within me.  Let my soul always give you praise and thanksgiving. Thank you for the gifts you have given me and all of us.

1 Thessalonians 5 (Douay Rheims 1899)

16 Always rejoice.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all.

19 Extinguish not the spirit.

Some of the songs I've been waking up to:

All You've Ever Wanted by Casting Crowns (LOVE LOVE LOVE the piano intro!!)

Abba Father

And clearly because it's Advent: O Come O Come Emmanuel