Ceaseless

November 17th

Today's Bible Reading

Ceaseless 

1 Thessalonians 5:17

pray without ceasing,

In a busy fast past world, it is difficult to pull aside and pray. We feel that we are stretched and stressed by life’s strains. Time constraints have us captive to their demands. We know that we should pray, but we can’t seem to stop long enough to pray. We find that we are too busy to pray, but in reality, we are too busy not to pray.  

Often, we sense that we must draw away to find solitude and silence so we can enter into secluded supplication. And there are times for such petitions. But this is not the exclusive manner of prayer we find in the scriptures. Many times, individuals didn’t have the privilege of “quieted” times of prayer. They found themselves praying in prisons, in pits, and in public places when problems and peril didn’t permit them to withdrawal to their “prayer closet”. Their crisis wouldn’t allow them to postpone their petition. They understood that prayer was not restricted to secluded moments, but for real time situations.  Prayer was a matter for that moment. It was for the now.

Paul encourages us to make prayer always in the now. He challenges us to make pray more than a morning or evening encounter, but an unceasing utterance. He pleads for us to learn how to walk in constant communication with the Lord by developing a habit of ceaseless prayer. He says we should pray without ceasing.

Ceaseless prayer should be the practice of every Christian. We should always pray. Here is a call to come. It is a reminded of the unlimited access and the unhindered audience that we have with the Lord. It is an assurance that the throne room is never closed and the path into His presence is cleared. Heaven’s halls are always open to our cries. No petition will be put out. The Lord is always available to hear our pleas, so we should always pray.

In our text, the restrictions of posture, place and time are removed from prayer. No longer is there a regard for whether our utterance is silent or spoken. We are free to pray anyway, anywhere, and anytime. Always pray. Here is an encouragement not to limit prayer to an appointed time or assigned place. Make prayer the pattern of your day. Pray at home. Pray at work. Pray as you travel. Pray throughout the day. We should pray always and everywhere. This is an encouragement to always be in an attitude of prayer and always be in a spirit of supplication. We should pray without ceasing.  

This should cause us to seek to develop consistent communication with him. There should be constant praise toward Him and continuous pleas before Him. We must pray without ceasing because trouble, trials and temptations are unceasing. We should pray without ceasing, because heartache, despair and difficulties are not anticipated. We should pray without ceasing, because doubt, depression and discouragement don’t announce themselves. We should pray without ceasing, because our desire, delight and devotion wanes throughout the day. We must pray without ceasing, because our dependence on God demands it. 

Life happens in moments. It is often unannounced and at times unexpected. It is unscheduled so our prayer life must be also. The answer for daily assaults is always pray. The safeguard for our struggles is sustained prayer. The confidence that carries us through crisis is ceaseless prayer. 

Today and each day following set up a specific time to prayer and spontaneously pray throughout the day. That’s praying without ceasing. Let it be your habit and let it be your hope in a world of heartache and hurt.