Spending Time Praying Without Ceasing

Examining God’s Word

“Pray without ceasing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17

Evaluating Our Garden

Prayer can be a difficult habit to establish. Due to our chaotic calendars, praying can get postponed, only to be called on for emergencies. We often wait to pray until we’re already facing a major health issue, financial crisis, a lost job, appliances that all quit at one time, we’re succumbing to addiction or suffering the consequences of sin, and are carrying heavy burdens for family and friends. It seems that when we get in dire situations, with nowhere to turn, that is when we finally turn to God. And, usually, once the crisis is averted, we stuff our prayer life back into its crowded closet until the next need arises.

It’s a shame to live defeated prayer lives because we either neglect it or struggle to measure up to the man-made standards we’ve been taught to follow. Too many shrink in the shadows of guilt because they feel they can’t pray well enough, long enough, at the right times, in the right places, or with enough faith to move mountains.

God’s Word says we are to pray always. This prayer should be at the ready in our hearts, far more than our cellphones are at the ready in our hands.

Experiencing Seasons

I’m learning that prayer is an ongoing activity for Christians. It’s not a one and done, do it in the morning or evening and forget it kind of thing. It’s not about going to a weekly “prayer” meeting where we receive a long list of requests that we file in our Bible covers and never look at again.

When I got tired of hearing my shallow, repetitive prayers and wasting time praying without truly acknowledging God or His responses, I decided to make a change. I wanted relief from the guilt of an inconsistent prayer life. The biggest changes I made included:

• Praying anytime and anywhere
• Praying immediately with a person, instead of promising to pray later
• Starting a prayer journal and dating the answered prayers
• Expressing prayerful gratitude to God, no matter how He answered

I practiced these habits consistently for six years until they became a regular part of my daily life. As a result, I’ve noticed more changes—my prayers are now spontaneous, specific, and sincere, my guilt about not doing it “right” is gone, and I’m more aware of who I’m praying to, than what I’m praying for.

Embracing Solace

The act of spending time focused on our Creator, while taking time to share our needs and show Him gratitude, cultivates solace in our lives.

Enjoying Simplicity

Prayer is a very simple gesture. When we realize we have full access to our Creator—day or night—it changes how and when we approach Him.

Employing Solutions

Prayer is our personal communication with God. It gives us access to Him at every moment, not just during religious and ritualistic practices.

The words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 are defined in the Greek this way:

Prayer is not about asking and hoping to receive. Our prayers are to be presented humbly, reverently, and continually to God for the purpose of making supplication (to petition or make an urgent request) and to worship Him. He’s waiting to hear from us at any time.

Bring It Home

When do you spend the most time in prayer?

Praying for you as we grow together,
Smiles, BRC