Is it possible to pray without ceasing?
Have you found yourself glitching over a specific bible verse? One that slams the brakes on your bible reading and you find yourself asking, “How is that possible? Does that mean what I think it means?”
I’ve heard many Christians wonder about this one.
“Pray without ceasing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Are we really supposed to be constantly praying to God? If I spent all my day in my prayer closet, I wouldn’t get anything done. I’d be “so heavenly minded, no earthly good.”
And I’ve heard this response from other Christians: We’re supposed to be in a constant mindset of prayer. It’s like always having an open line to God. We can pray anytime, anywhere because He is always there. It’s like sitting in a living room with your spouse. You’re quietly reading, doing your own thing but you are so comfortable with each other that you can break into conversation at any moment.
A broader view is that we give priority to our prayer life. We make prayer an every day, several times a day occurrence. Just like we would do with a good friend, we cultivate our relationship with God by dedicating time to Him. Prayer is more than a once-a-day ritual. God is always available to us, so we need to always be available to talk with him.
Consider this.
This is true. This is good. But I want to add another layer that I think fits with other Bible passages. Another way we could say this verse is, “Don’t stop praying.” In fact, the New Living Translation translates this verse in that way: “Never stop praying.”
Jesus told a parable about a persistent widow who badgered an unjust judge so long, the judge finally gave in to her request. The author, Luke, prefaces the parable by saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1).”
Short-term and long-term prayers
When you pray for something, how many times do you pray for that need?
“It depends,” you might say.
You are right. We might pray once for the need at hand. A couple of times for what is happening today. I call those short-term prayers.
But not every prayer is a short-term prayer. Many needs are far more complex and general for God to answer immediately. Some things just take time. The growth of your church. The breaking of an addiction. The salvation of a loved one. The resolution of a conflict.
Let’s call those long-term prayers.
Don’t slack off
Confusion sets in when we treat long-term prayers as short-term prayers. We may pray once, twice, every day for a week. Then we skip a day and then slack off in praying for that specific need. We may decide the matter isn’t so important and we lose interest and fervency.
Or we think God isn’t doing anything and we rationalize that maybe we’re asking for the wrong thing. God is too busy with more important matters. We wonder if God heard us, cares about we care about, or has the power to do what we’ve asked.
Don’t give up.
Don’t stop praying. Do not cease and desist!
Approach your long-term prayers like a widow seeking justice from a sluggish bureaucrat. Be insistent. Be persistent. Let God know you are serious about this prayer matter. Don’t lose faith. Keep telling God you know He can do this thing. Become so passionate about your prayer concern that you would be willing to bug God daily till you hear from Him.
Guess what. You’re not bugging Him. You’re agreeing with Him about the need to see His will “done on earth as it is in Heaven (Mt 6:10).” When you persistently pray, you show God that His involvement is important to you and you are confident in His ability to bring about change.
Keep praying. Over and over. Don’t quit. It’s important.
Prayer is one of my favorite topics! Here is some other writing I’ve done about prayer:
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