Pray without Ceasing

… pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

What does that mean, pray without ceasing? Who can do that? You’ve got to eat, sleep, work, play, and engage in all the other activities of life, right? I mean, who can honestly do that?

While prayer is a major topic in Scripture, it’s also one of the most mysterious. No one fully understands how it works, why it works, why some prayers seem to be answered and others seem to be ignored. We just know Jesus laid a lot of emphasis on it, spent a lot of time in prayer Himself and gave us a number of pointers about it.

And, throughout history, volumes have been written about prayer to help all of us gain a better understanding of it and be more effective at it. I have at least 50 of those books on prayer in my home library, and I subscribe to a bi-monthly magazine called Pray!, all to help me, the finite, as I talk to the Infinite.

There’s no way, in a short devotional, to distill all that information into a little primer on prayer. But, over the years, as I’ve both read about prayer and spent time praying, here are what I feel are some of the most important things to remember:

1. Prayer is conversation between me and God. He instituted it. He wants it, because He made us for relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him as well as He knows us.

2. Prayer involves both talking and listening. Its purpose is not only to present my requests to God but also to gain His perspective on them and on my life … what He sees as important, how He wants me to do things.

3. Prayer gets my eyes off the temporal and on the eternal. When I pray, I start with God and who He is and who He says I am in Christ, not with my need or request. After all, God is the One in control. He’s sovereign and the One with all the answers, wisdom, the big picture. I need to start with Him. And when I do, my request, no matter how dire, urgent or difficult, doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

4. Prayer is as much an attitude as an action. That’s how I can pray without ceasing. While I may be busy with other activities, I try to keep my life open to God and to what He might want to say to me through every possible avenue by staying as available as I can to Him … that means, confessing sin when I commit it, trying to walk in obedience to Him, releasing my life to Him each day to do with as He pleases. That way, I can come into His presence for a protracted length of time or for a short sentence, on the run, so to speak, as needs arise. I’m in fellowship with Him … and He with me. And conversation can be ongoing since we don’t need a telephone or text messaging.

5. Prayer deepens the better I get to know God and the more transparent I am with my own life. My requests and even the way I look at them and what I ask concerning them change as I spend more time with God. I may not be so focused on wanting to get out of a difficult situation quickly as I am in learning whatever I need to in the circumstance so I’m changed and what I’ve gone through has achieved its purpose in my life. Or, in praying for something, instead of a one-dimensional prayer, I may see many aspects of it that need to be presented to God for His touch and His work.

6. Prayer changes me. The more I come into God’s presence, focus on Him, and ask Him for His thoughts, His mind, His perspective on my life, the more I want Him and not just what He can do for me. My trust, faith, hope, peace, comfort in Him grow, and I know He’s at work, even when I can’t see any immediate changes in the people or situations I’m praying over.

7. Prayer makes me persistent. Since I know God’s goodness, God’s heart, God’s love, God’s character, and when I know I’m praying in accordance with His will and wishes, I know I’m heard, so I’m encouraged to hang in there and keep right on asking and thanking God for the answer I know is coming, even when it’s still off in the future.

8. Prayer makes me more aware of evil and more mindful of others. I can’t ask God to show me His heart without my own breaking over the sin and evil in the world and the horrible consequences we live with each day that are the result of both. I can’t pray without seeking mercy, relief and respite for the wounded, abused and needy and without crying out for justice and righteousness to flood our world and pervade our lives. And I can’t pray without wanting to do my part in making things right.

So, pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray with confidence in the One who loves you and who is able to do all things, including the impossible. Pray with persistence, knowing that if we’re in relationship with Him, He hears and promises to answer in a way that is for your best and that is rich in blessing. And pray that you can hear ... hear Him speak and draw closer to Him as a result.

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