Never stop praying?
NEVER?
Like, every single moment of every single day?
How
is
that
even
possible???
Yep. The Book says never. Or in some translations it says “without ceasing.” Same concept, different words.
So, if we’re supposed to always be praying, Faye, how can we witness to people or place our order at Chick-Fil-A? How can we focus on driving or school? How can we hold a conversation?
Hold on! Hold on. Let’s talk about this.
John MacArthur notes that this doesn’t mean praying constantly, more that Paul meant persistently and regularly. God expects us to keep on praying. Regularly. At least every day.
We’ve talked about this before. Coming to the table only once a week makes for a poorly person.
He doesn’t want us to just drive by and drop off our prayer request once and never think of it again.
I think God would much rather us speak to Him about our concern, then later in the day, maybe even in the same hour, we mention that request again. No long drawn out discussion, just the name or the situation. I don’t think He thinks that when we do that we’re saying He’s forgotten. I think He recognizes instead that it is very important to us.
I think there’s another aspect to unceasing prayer. We know God looks at our hearts more than our outsides or our actions.
Unceasing prayer
is a heart position.
When we keep our heart and mind attuned to God, every mention of a need doesn’t require the start of a new prayer, it’s more of an “also.”
“Would you pray that I get the
job I just applied for?”
“Sure will.”
Then to God, “Also, Lord, this one needs the job applied for…”
It’s an ongoing conversation between the pray-er and Almighty God.
Regular. Continuous. Persistent.
Never ceasing.
Let’s start in this moment. Let’s recall those things we’ve dropped off at God’s doorstep and pick them back up so we can reverently deliver them to His throne.
Let’s place our hearts on His frequency and stay tuned to Him. Let’s ask Him to show us what to pray for. Then, every time we think of that person or situation, we can share it again with the One who can do something about it.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
