"Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
2 Thessalonians 5:17-18
Praying without ceasing - what does that really mean? Does it mean that we should always be on prayer mode ready to fold our hands and bow down our heads at any given minute of the day? That would be wonderful, but the meaning of this instruction Paul gives to the church in Thessalonica goes beyond just the act of saying a certain prayer. It goes back to the attitude of the heart.
One of the biggest misconceptions people have today is that we can go through a full day without Him. Truth be told, if God completely left you to yourself today, you'd be gone before you even knew it. Colossians 1:17 says, "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
The presence of God is essential to our everyday lives, and to "pray without ceasing" is to acknowledge that as a reality that we live by. Essentially, it can seem like a tall order to pray without ceasing but in reality it's the easiest life we can live.
Here are three applications to praying without ceasing and what it does to us.
Continued dependence
To pray without ceasing means to continue in our dependence towards Jesus for anything and everything. Jesus is the very reason of our existence and is now the prize that we run to. Without Him there would be no meaning to anything we say or do. We are to live acknowledging that very reality- that without Jesus we are nothing.
We depend on Him for provision, protection, purpose and significance at all times, and to be separate from Him is to be void of all these things.
Continued declaration
As we continually be in an attitude of prayer, we continue in our declaration of who God is in our lives. We declare Him as master when we surrender every endeavour we have through the day. We declare Him as provider when we look to Him for daily bread. We declare Him as healer when we acknowledge Him in times of hurt or distress.
On the other hand, to refuse to have an attitude that prays without ceasing declares that we have no need of God. What kind of declaration would you like to make today?
Continued devotion
Devotion means commitment. What or who you are devoted to greatly affects what you choose to do and how you live your life. To devote ourselves to God means to constantly acknowledge that everything we do is by Him and for Him.
More than words, our devotion is a reflection of our heart. When we devote our hearts to God, we acknowledge our desire to be with Him and to live for Him.
