The Bible tells us that we should pray always. We should always seek God, come to Him in time of need, and seek to remain in His presence on a daily basis. To top all that, we are taught to do this in a seemingly "impossible" way:
"...pray without ceasing..." (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
How can we do that? How do we pray without ceasing?
When prayers are put in a box
Friends, many of us fail to realize that when the Bible instructs us to do something, it actually means that we can do it by God's grace. If the Bible says we should be thankful in the midst of trials, we can be thankful in the midst of trials. If it tells husbands to love their wives the way Christ loves the church, it means that husbands can love their wives that way.
Simply put, what the Bible tells us to do is NOT outrageous or impossible. Philippians 4:13 tells us,
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
That said, when we think about "praying without ceasing," we should not think of praying as some sort of chore that we've got to do to please God. No, it's not that way.
Also, we shouldn't think of prayer as some sort of command or responsibility to simply fulfill. When we think of prayer that way, we lose sight of its beauty and the joy we gain from it.
We also must avoid thinking of prayer as something only the "called" or "anointed" can do. It's a privilege given to all who are in Christ and are called children of God (see John 1:12; Hebrews 4:16).
How do we do it?
And so now we proceed to the meat of the matter. How do we pray without ceasing? The key isn't found anywhere else; it's found where the command is given.
Here's what 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 tells us:
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil."
Friends, there are so many things to pray about. In fact, we'll never run out of things to pray!
Prayer is simply our means of communicating with God. He talks, we listen; we pray, He listens; we wait for His response. It's just like a relationship with a close person; the only difference is that the one we're communicating with is the God of the universe.
So, what do we do it based on the passage?
- We praise and glorify God always.
- We constantly think about His goodness.
- We thank Him for everything He has done, is doing, and will do, moment by moment.
- We pray in the Spirit, praying in tongues (if we have the gift).
- We ask God to speak and confirm His word of truth.
- We pray to God for wisdom, discernment, and instruction.
- We pray to God that He would deliver us from evil.
In closing
It's not difficult to find something to pray about. The challenge here is not to pray long hours; the challenge here is to actually grow in our relationship and intimacy with God.
