The Apostle Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NASB). This teaching from the Bible can be confusing unless we understand the true context. When Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing,” he isn’t telling us that we have to constantly be sitting on the floor, saying our prayers out to God. Many of us believe we can only pray when we sit on the floor, our heads down and eyes closed, yet this isn’t true. We can pray while walking, running, or driving a car. In other words, we can pray at any time of day, no matter what we are doing. This passage of Scripture helps to describe the truth of what it means to pray and what it means to “pray without ceasing.”
When I first learned about praying without ceasing, I thought it was extremely intimidating. How was I to pray without ceasing throughout the entire day? After all, I had work, school, and daily life. How could I consistently be praying throughout the day? If you feel this same way, know that you are not alone. God doesn’t expect us to bend down on our knees and pray every second of the day. Instead, He wants us to stay in communication with Him throughout the day and keep our hearts and minds focused on Him. This is how we can truly pray without ceasing.
When Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing,” he is referring to the fact that we should constantly be in communication with God. BibleRef points out the truth, “Rather, we ought to be in a constantly ‘prayerful’ state, and frequently speaking to God in actual, dedicated prayer. Even amid trials, believers should recognize the immeasurable value of maintaining fellowship with God through frequent prayer." In other words, “pray without ceasing” means we should be turning to God and be active in communicating with Him each day.
Prayer should be what we turn to first, yet it is often what we turn to last. God wants us to be consistent in talking with Him and giving Him all of our worries, concerns, and troubles. The Bible tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). As this passage tells us, God wants us to turn to Him always. My mother believed that praying to God would “burden Him.” This is not true because God wants us to come to Him. We never burden Him, nor do we “take up” His time.
“Pray without ceasing” reminds us to keep our focus on God and to include Him in our daily lives. When we are consistently talking with God in prayer, we will be able to include Him in our everyday life. Praying can be difficult to remember when we are busy, yet we must take time to pray to God each day. We should continue to talk with God throughout our day. By doing this, we are praying without ceasing.
The Lord wants to be included in every part of our day, and our minds must not drift from Him. The more we drift from God, the more likely we are to follow the sinful flesh rather than God. Paul tells us, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). By consistently including God in your day, you will be able to truly “pray without ceasing.”
The less we pray and neglect active communication with God, the less likely we will be to take our stand against the devil and his demons. The Bible tells us to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Part of the full armor of God is praying in the Spirit, as Paul tells us, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). As Paul tells us, we need to pray in the Spirit with all of our worries, prayers, and requests.
If you are having difficulty praying without ceasing, there are many things you can do to help. Start by praying daily. You can pick the morning, afternoon, or evening. Once you have a healthy habit of praying at least once a day, work up to two or three times a day. Soon, you should be in the habit of praying to God. Once you are more used to praying to God, you will naturally want to talk with Him more and more.
God is always with us, and He never leaves us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus tells us directly, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). Since God is always with us, we know we can talk to Him at any time of day. Whether we are just waking up or about to go to sleep, we can talk to God. Throughout our entire day, we need to be intentional about talking with God. Just as we would talk to a friend to get to know them and build a relationship with them, we have to take time to talk with God and build a relationship with Him.
The Father wants a relationship with us, which is why He sent His Son to die for the world's sins (John 3:16-17). He did this for us to come to know Him. Shortly after God created Adam and Eve, they sinned against Him and were separated from Him because of their sin. Due to Adam and Eve’s original sin, we are now all separated from God. It is only when we place faith in Jesus that we will have a restored relationship with Him. After we accept Jesus, we have a right relationship with God, we are given forgiveness of sins, and now possess eternal life.
Since we have these promises from God, we need to be faithful to Him and continue to walk in obedience to His teachings. We can continue to be active in our relationship with God by praying to Him throughout the day. Prayers should not be repetitive, nor should we feel we have to say certain words or phrases for God to hear us. Instead, we should talk to God as if we would be talking to a friend. He doesn’t want us to speak to Him with mindless repetitions as the Lord tells us, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7).
When we are talking with God in prayer, we need to be honest and avoid feeling like we have to say the same things for God to hear us. This is something I struggled with for many years because I was afraid if I didn’t say the same things each day, something bad would happen. God wants us to be in constant communication with Him, but He doesn’t want us to pray mindlessly. Instead, He wants us to pray without ceasing and include Him in every part of our lives. As Christians, we should want to talk to God and include Him in our decisions, choices, and daily lives.
Thus, we can all pray without ceasing by keeping God included in our daily life, talking with Him, and giving our concerns over to Him. God doesn’t expect us to walk this life alone, as He is always there with us. Even if we think we are alone, we are not. God is with us through the highs and the lows. There is no second out of the day that He is not with us. In the same way, we need to pray to the Lord and keep our hearts consistent, and minds focused on Him throughout our day.
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