Pray without ceasing…
How is it possible to pray without ceasing?
Pray Without Ceasing?
What did Paul mean by this
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul exhortation? How is it possible to pray
encourages the Thessalonians to “pray always, or to pray night and day for
without ceasing.” (NRSV; NKJV) also someone continuously? Don’t we need
translated as “Pray continually” (NIV; to go about our daily lives, to work and
CEB) He also mentions in several other eat and spend time with family and
places in his letters that he is praying friends? Did Paul expect that we would
without ceasing for different people he spend all our time kneeling in prayer,
had met in his travels. even in the night when we need to
sleep?
Matthew 6:6
• Matthew 6:6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
• 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and
pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you. (some ancient texts add “openly” here)
• Matthew 6:6 The Message (MSG)
• 6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so
you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as
simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from
you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
Can you pray without ceasing during
everyday life?
• This secret place can also be in my heart • *That means they don’t have control over their thoughts.
and in my thoughts. As I am doing They are just scattered and spent on things of the earth, and
have no eternal value. This is the natural state of man – to
different things during the day, the
focus on earthly visible things.
question is where my thoughts are. In
• (“Earthly” refers to everything of this earth, as opposed to
Ephesians 4:17, Paul writes about those
heavenly things. Example: Earthly treasures/heavenly
who go about in “the futility of their treasures. The earthly things pass away (are temporal), but
mind.” * the heavenly things are eternal. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Ephesians 4:17 New Revised Standard Matthew 6:19-21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Version (NRSV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
17 Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: moth and rust[a] consume and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
you must no longer live as the Gentiles live,
in the futility of their minds. moth nor rust[b] consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
A way…
But what if I choose to invest my
thoughts in praying for the others,
in praying for myself and thinking But I can do this even in the midst
about how I can use my time to of my daily life when I am free to
bless instead of spending it all on think, but going about my other
myself? It takes training and a tasks. In this way, I can pray
conscious effort to work with my without ceasing.
thoughts so that I use them for
heavenly things.
Romans 8:26
• Romans 8:26 New Revised Standard Version
(NRSV)
• 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for
we do not know how to pray as we ought, but
that very Spirit intercedes (for us) with sighs too
deep for words.
Holy Spirit
When we have the Holy Spirit So as we go about my day and see how
living in me, then we also have a we respond towards people, then we can
constant helper. The “conscience” But the Holy Spirit reminds us sense inside this constant refrain:
reminding us of our need to be that it is (or should be) our “Please set me free from my sinful
transformed. For example, desire that when we speak, nature, help me to overcome so that I
perhaps we see in our dealings goodness and love can come can be a blessing for the others.” Then
with people that we are forth instead of hard words. we can also have that groaning inside
sometimes defensive, or along with the Holy Spirit, who also prays
“naturally harsh” towards them. for us. Even when we are sleeping the
Spirit continues to intercede for us,
because the Spirit knows the longing of
our hearts.
