How can I pray without ceasing?, as the scripture says in I THESSALONIANS 5:17 Pray without ceasing. I have been desiring to do that, but it seems impossible to pray 24/7. I work full time, and try to keep my mind on the Lord as much as I can, but many times I forget, let alone pray.Any thots?
I think we should be careful how we interpret this verse (or any Scripture, of course)."Pray without ceasing" could mean:1. Pray and never stop praying, i.e. pray 24/7, never sleep (unless you can pray while sleeping), etc.2. Never cease to pray, i.e. don't simply stop praying and never do it again, or neglect it for long periods of time. How regular it should be is a more complex question.If I told someone to "never cease reading the Bible," I probably don't mean they should be reading it 24/7 to the exclusion of sleep or other activities that preclude the necessary attention required by reading Scripture. Instead I probably mean they should read the Bible at least an hour or so every day that they can, and never go a day without at least few minutes in it.I think we should always (or almost always) be concious of our relationship with God and God's constant presence, and if we become aware of some blessing, that we thank Him for it, and if we become aware of some need, that we make our (or whoever's) want known to Him (as per Philippians 4). This should be fairly natural after a while with Him, I think. However, we need to dedicate time to prayer, where we only communicate (both ways) with God, possibly large amounts of time.
think of it as being marryed. you never think about being marryed you are. your life is a prayer too god. live your life to his praise.
Another thought on praying without ceasing is the idea of "abiding in the vine." If we are abiding, walking in His Presence 24/7 and dwelling with Him, we have access to Him and can "pray without ceasing".Here are some other scriptures to go along with this thought.Luke 18:118:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;KJVLuke 21:3636 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.KJVRom 12:1212 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;KJVEph 6:1818 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;KJVCol 4:22 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;KJV1 Peter 4:77 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.KJVGrace,Doug
I have thinking along the same lines as Ravin and Doug. Couldn't we interpret it as meaning that we should always pray in our spirit? I makes me think of Keith Green's song, "Make my life a prayer to You". Isn't that how we should see it?
Thanks for the additional scriptures. They throw more light on the subject.
I have been desiring to do that, but it seems impossible to pray 24/7. I work full time, and try to keep my mind on the Lord as much as I can, but many times I forget, let alone pray.Prayer in its most basic form is nothing other than keeping company with God. You do not have to constantly be walking around muttering something under your breath or in your head to be walking in the spirit of prayer. It is a state where one is open to the activity of the Spirit of God.
Riki, "make my LIFE a Prayer"How can that be done? sorry, I'm just confused.matthew
"make my LIFE a Prayer"Here are some thoughts...1 Peter 3:12[And his ears are open unto their prayers] He hears their prayers. As he is a hearer of prayer, they are at liberty to go to him at all times, and to pour out their desires before him. This passage is taken from Ps 34:15, and it is designed to show the reason why a life of piety will contribute to length of days.(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)Ps 34:15-1815 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. NIVI think the idea of our LIFE as a prayer is that if we are living a life before the Lord that is righteous and holy, we can have access to his presence and can offer our daily life to Him in prayer at anytime. Our day-to-day LIFE is everything that we do. What you do all day long can be an act of worship which is another form of prayer to the Lord. Rom 12:112:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.NIVDoes this help?Grace,Doug
Here is a post I wrote from another thread. Maybe this will help.Prayer is a Lifestyle"Prayer is not so much what we ask as what we are. God responds to our prayers based on our lives. In John 15:7, Jesus says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.” Prayer is a lifestyle. It is spending time with God and spending time in the Word of God. Redemption has two sides... the legal side and the reality side. You can be legally saved but still never have a single prayer answered." -Charles CowanI have such a hard time with people saying that they need to learn to pray more. It frustrates me a bit. I guess because I feel it should come so naturally and I don't think it is all done in a prayer closet when we are just sitting still and quiet (even though this is good too). If we are living "in Christ" and He is living "in us" then it should be so natural to be in constant communication with Him. Every thought I have is His.I am constantly "talking " with Him in my mind. "Oh, sorry for that, please forgive me". "Please be with that person I see right there". It's just like I am talking to someone ( a person) who is right there with me and can hear all my thoughts.Maybe this is what is called walking in the spirit. I am never away from Him or out from under His leading or watchful eyes. It is just a way of life. Yes, there are times when I must do some "petitioning" for others; or I need to take some extra quiet time to receive instruction or direction. This is important too. I think I am in one constant long conversation with Him all day long though. I suppose this is "praying without ceasing".Most often I pray according to the Lord's prayer- as Jesus taught us as an example, not word for word but as a format. He obviously knows best what to pray- I trust Him and His direction more than anyone else. I pray for the Lord's will to be done more than anything else. In people's lives, in my own life, in this world. Nothing is apart from His will. I only want to pray what the Lord wants not what i want or anyone else. I think if we pray according to what the Lord wants then there is no stopping him from answering. But if it is not his will then I am not going to go against that and try to pray for it anyway. He knows best, not me.If my life is blessed at all it is not because I have prayed for it. I hardly ever ask anything for myself. Almost never. If I am blessed at all it is because of my obedience and my surrender to Him. I know that as long as I live in obedience to Him- everything in my life will be taken care of. I can trust in that.My praying is very trusting and childlike. I talk about things and He listens- what He chooses to answer and when and in what way- is not my right to say. He speaks and I listen. He speaks when we are quiet but also when we are observant. It can be anywhere through any situation.If prayer is communication then it is a 24 hour thing with me. I'm available anytime and so is He. He knows that's where I am. I suppose it is easier for me because I don't have a job where I have to be somewhere else and put my whole mind and efforts into that job (where i can't take time to think thoughts to the Lord). I think this is why there are probably many women (who stay at home more) and many older men ( who don't work as much any more), who have this prayer lifestyle, or this totally immersed life in the Lord.Prayer to me is definitely a lifestyle and not an event. It is important to have discipline enough to be with Him in the quiet- and we should all have the sensativity in our spirits to know when that is. But as mature christians- it should just be a given that it is a 24 hour thing. Our mind belongs to Him, our body belongs to Him, our mouth belongs to Him, our hearts belong to Him, our time belongs to Him, our daily lives belong to Him. Forgive me if I have offended anyone and please don't think I am saying that you shouldn't TRY to pray. I just think as you grow in Christ, you abide in Him and He abides in you- prayer is a continuous thing, it is not an effort in any way.Walking with Him, Chanin
Riki, "make my LIFE a Prayer"How can that be done? Good question. I guess it depends on what you mean by prayer. I think we need to get away from too narrow a view of what prayer is (I long to learn this myself).As I see it, prayer is a form, or part, of worship. And I believe our whole lives should be an act of worship. That is why it makes sense to me that it is actually possible to pray without ceasing and to live a life that is, in effect, a prayer to God. Am I on the right track here? Any other thoughts considering the connection (and/or difference) between prayer and worship, for example?
Doug, Chanin (is it pronounced SHanin sorry I am helplessly fonetical), Thanks, Yes that has helped...some :-?.Prayer is something that HAS often been a point of shame for me. Just this past year (I had before hoped I was beond this) I verry much questioned my salvation because of my difficulties herein. I was so extreemly convicted by Jonathan Edwards "Hypocrates Defficient in the Duty ofSecret Prayer" That I became convinced I was an hypocrate. And even now...when I read of your consistancy Chanin, I am ashamed. That is soemthing I long for, but seem too easially distracted. The seed that fell on thorny soil grew for a while and then the cares of the world choked it out. I have been growing in Holiness for about the past four years. HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN FOCUS? Thanks matthew
Matthew,I always considered myself a terrible pray-er.I am not one to pray for hours or be an intercessor like some. I thought something was wrong with me. Yet, as I lived my life being obedient, the Lord blessed my "heart thoughts"- you might say. Now, I know I needed to learn more about prayer and did need to learn to "sit at his feet" and listen. But I realized that most of my prayers were summed up in 'Thy will be done'.As I have grown in closeness to the Lord- it has just come naturally. The more He has become increased in me- the less of me there is and it is just like He is always there.I am still not one to come to Him with all of these requests and pray about them for hours. I don't know if He would answer them anyway- if my heart wasn't right.So I focus on living for His glory. I focus on becoming less of me and more of Him- and it all falls into place. No struggling and trying.It is very similar to The Practice of The Presence of God. Have you read this? The more He is increased in you and you are gone- the more his presence is there. If His presence is there then He is readily available to constantly communicate with. Even just little thoughts.Hope this helps some. I found that a tape series called "Prayer: the Eternal Purpose" by Chip Brogden really helped me see the bigger picture beyond just requests, etc...In Him, chanin (yes, it's pronounced SHanin :-) )
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