"PRAY WITHOUT CEASING"


A. "REJOICE EVERMORE. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING." - 1 Thess. 5:16, 17
  1. Paul's admonition:
    1. To rejoice evermore is a real challenge to a Christian in a world that is filled with continuous perplexities and hardships.
    2. "In the world ye shall have tribulation" - John 16:33
  2. How can a person be engaged in prayer:
    1. When you must have your mind upon your work?
    2. Does it seem feasible to pray without ceasing?
B. THE INSPIRED INJUNCTION "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING" STANDS; EVEN WE ARE UNABLE TO RATIONALIZE HOW THIS CAN BE DONE WHEN SO MANY OTHER THINGS PRESS UPON OUR MINDS AND HEARTS
  1. There are, as you understand, many different ways of praying:
    1. Praying in the Spirit -- these prayers are inaudible, as in the case of Hannah - 1 Sam. 1:10- 15
    2. Vocal prayer, as in the case of Paul - Acts 20:36
    3. Community prayer, as in the case of the church in the days when the apostles suffered much persecution - Acts 4:24-31
  2. It is true that we are admonished to pray without ceasing:
    1. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." - Eph. 6:18
    2. "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." - Col. 1:3
    3. "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face." - 1 Thess. 3:10
  3. The life of a child of God is, rightly called, a life of prayer:
    1. There are great and compelling reasons for this prayer life - Col. 4:2
    2. Satan is constantly after us to trap us in one way or another - 1 Pet. 5:8
    3. Had the disciples been engaged in prayer on that terrible night in the garden, their story might have been different.
C. WHAT MUST WE UNDERSTAND BY "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING"?
  1. Prayer keeps us in constant connection with God:
    1. That is a must every moment of our life.
    2. For when our connections with God are disrupted or broken, we are in a lost condition.
    3. Prayer is the God provided channel through which He supplies us with strength to walk in the straight and narrow way.
    4. Prayer is God's counsel chamber, and if it is disrupted we lose contact with that counsel.
    5. Prayer is the great outlet of divine power, and if we neglect it for one moment we cut ourselves off from this source of power.
  2. This brings us to the final and most important point of our subject:
    1. To pray without ceasing simply means for us to be in the attitude of prayer.
    2. It means that we keep in tune with heaven; God is able to speak to us at any moment.
    3. When our mind is stayed upon God, we are in a state of prayer.
  3. But to pray without ceasing implies:
    1. That we live very close to God every waking moment of our life.
    2. The life of Enoch was, without doubt, a life of constant prayer because he walked with God - Gen. 5:23-25
    3. But how can one walk with God and not commune with Him?
    4. To walk with God means to fellowship with Him; and that means that we live in the very atmosphere of prayer.
  4. Blessings of a life of constant prayer:
    1. It will keep us on the straight and narrow way - Matt. 7:13
    2. It will shield us against the wiles of the devil - Luke 22:32
    3. It will keep worldliness out of our life; he who is filled with the Spirit of prayer is secure against the spirit of the world.
    4. It will keep us in constant touch with our heavenly Father, which is life in itself.
    5. That is what I understand by praying without ceasing.


Design © John Bryant 2011