One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. It is a list of three commands that expresses the will of God for us. Included in that list is an admonition or command to “Pray without ceasing.” At the end of that compound sentence, Paul gives the reason these admonitions are given. He says “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Included in that list is “Rejoice always” and “In everything give thanks.” The latter two listed here can can be challenging to follow but I could never understand how one could “pray without ceasing.” How can we do that when we have jobs to perform, people to interact with, responsibilities to fulfill, lives to live? Two things have come to my attention that has brought relief to my mind concerning this and has shown me how it is possible to “pray without ceasing.”
First, when I looked up the word “ceasing” in the Greek, I discovered that in that the word used does not have the connotation that we would attribute to it. It is the Greek word, “adialeiptos” (with a long “o” sound). To my surprise, according to Vines Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words it refers to “that which is constantly recurring” rather than “that which is not interrupted”. That is a big difference. Something that is constantly recurring is something that you do in regularity rather than something you do every minute of the day. This is the same term used in Romans 1:9 referring to how Paul faithfully mentions the Romans in his prayers. It is also found in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 regarding how Paul always remembers the faithful work and the steadfastness of the Thessalonians. So, prayer is something that we should be doing with regularity. It is to be a lifestyle rather than an afterthought or a duty. Though we may be somewhat relieved, we are still left with the question of how to even do that? How do we live a lifestyle of prayer? This leads us to the second thing that came to my attention regarding the admonition to “pray without ceasing.”
Before I share what that is, let us first make sure that we all understand what prayer is. Prayer is a conversation with God. We tell Him what is on our minds and if we can settle our minds and hearts, we can discern Him speaking with us. We can talk to Him regarding things that are personal to us and those things that pertain to others. Though in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gives a model for prayer, there were times when He just simply asked God to move on behalf of others without preliminaries (John 11:41,42; Luke 23:34). There is a way to approach God that is brought out in the model prayer – worship, confession of sin, forgiveness of others, our requests made with worship and thanksgiving for the answers (Philippians 4:6,7).
For those of us who have placed their faith in Christ for salvation, we have direct access to God (Hebrews 4:16, 1 Peter 2:9). We are actually seated at His right hand in the heavenly places right now (Ephesians 2:4-6). We have His ear (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14,15). Understand also that it is the posture of our heart more so than the posture of our bodies that leads to effective prayer. There is a place for lifting of our hands, bowing or kneeling but prayer is not confined to postures. It is the humble submission of our heart in faith that is paramount in prayer. Therefore, prayer can occur anywhere. It can occur in the car, the grocery store, on the job, while you are cleaning, cooking, exercising, doing recreational activities. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing is an opportunity for prayer because it is simply having a conversation with God, the one who loves you passionately and made the ultimate sacrifice to bring you into relationship with Him.
Having said that, the second thing that I realized about the possibility of “praying without ceasing”/ living a life of prayer is that God constantly gives us opportunity to pray for others in addition to the concerns of our own hearts. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to be anxious about anything but instead to pray about it all with worship and thanksgiving. James 1:5,6 says to ask God in faith for wisdom if we need it. There are many more verses I could list that invite us to pray about the things we need. We also have access before God to pray for others (James 5:16, Ephesians 6:19). Because we have that privilege, God will bring people to mind or in our path that need prayer.
It took me a long time to realize that when I think of someone it is primarily for prayer rather than for me to feel guilty about not having talked to them or to wonder about them. I learned it when I would find out that the moment they came to mind was the time that they were in a situation that needed prayer. God will even use things to make you think of a person. One way that happens to me is that I will notice a car that looks like someone I know or I will see someone that reminds me of them. There are also encounters with strangers on the road or in a line at the bank or grocery store, on the job or anywhere else you may be. I have found that sometimes God has allowed me to be late just so I can encounter someone at my destination that needs prayer. Between my own life of dependency on Him and the needs of others, I find myself praying frequently throughout the day. Things that seem like coincidences are actually God’s divine appointments for prayer and even at times for ministry.
May God open our eyes to opportunities to talk to Him about our needs and the needs of others as He leads us into a life of prayer. I encourage you to embark on the exciting journey of living a life of prayer – “praying without ceasing,” – for it is His perfect will for us. Many blessings!
