PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING, BUT HOW TO PRAY WITHOUT CEASING ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, pray without ceasing according to the Bible
“Always be joyful. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We are told that we must be praying without ceasing, that is, pray without ceasing.
Pray without ceasing…Praying without ceasing according to the Bible
Impossible, right? Perhaps in the old days, when every task directly affected the survival of their family, of course they prayed without ceasing, because if the crop died, they would starve. If someone got sick, there was no medicine that could help, therefore it was a necessity to be praying without ceasing. Life was dangerous and fragile, and people were not distracted by social media and mobile phones.
Pray without ceasing, keep your mind on God by praying without ceasing according to the Bible
But today? Who can be expected to keep his mind on God at all times by praying without ceasing? Surely God wouldn’t expect that of us, because He knows better than anyone how imperfect we are and how short our attention spans are.
Nowhere in the Bible is there an asterisk after that verse that says: Pray without ceasing “*Unless I’m really busy”, nowhere is there this asterisk, therefore we must be praying without ceasing.
PRAY WITHOUT CEASE, DAILY MOMENTS IN PRAYER, PRAY WITHOUT CEASE ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
Praying without ceasing, our moments of prayer
These are the good news. Not only is it possible to pray without ceasing, but it is possible to do so without making significant changes to your schedule or time commitments. It’s about changing your thought process and turning everyday moments into prayer.
Looking for how to pray without ceasing
A friend gave me the best explanation I’ve ever heard about praying without ceasing: It’s like keeping the radio playing in the background. Keep that connection open and talk to God as you go through the day. Here are nine ways to pray without ceasing:
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, 9 WAYS TO DO IT, PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING
1. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing, start with gratitude.
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into her gates with thanksgiving, into her courts with praise; Praise him, bless his name.” Praying without ceasing with thanksgiving.
Praying without ceasing: Tell God what you are thankful for and start praying without ceasing
In other words, start by telling God what you are thankful for. Prayer does not have to be asking for something; it may simply be to thank him from the bottom of his heart for what he has already done. We must be grateful to God and be praying without ceasing.
2. Praying without ceasing: So that praying without ceasing is real.
If the sentence had to be formal and rigid language in the first place, we would get bored and feel out of our element most of the time. And second, we would find it difficult to keep it that way for any length of time.
Praying without ceasing, because prayer is a conversation… pray without ceasing
But prayer is just a conversation. Talk to him like you would a friend. Sit down with a cup of coffee and let the words come out, casually, simply. Praying without ceasing. Be real because it is one of the things it takes to pray without ceasing.
3. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing we must incorporate prayer into daily tasks.
Pray without ceasing. Let your daily tasks become acts of worship by turning them into moments of prayer. Praying without ceasing. As you fold laundry, pray for each family member, and then if your laundry piles are as high as mine, and you’re done praying for the family but not folding, then pray for others.
Pray without ceasing. Pray for your child’s soccer teammates, for the teachers in front of your children’s classrooms, for the partner who works hard to pay the bills, praying without ceasing for health to stay active, for the workplaces where clothes are used. Or just give thanks for the warmth of home where you relax in those pajamas.
4. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing, tell him what he already knows.
When my first son was in kindergarten, I realized that while I had a pretty good idea of what he was doing at school, he didn’t need to know the details. But when he told me how she and Jacob played at recess, or laughed as she tried to tell me the story her teacher read that day, it deepened my connection with my daughter. I was able to see my daughter’s life through her eyes and reveled in her unique perspective.
Although God knows what is in the heart, keep praying without ceasing
Of course, God already knows what is in our hearts, however, it is good to pray without ceasing, because when we offer our thoughts to him, what could be a lonely life becomes a richer and more meaningful relationship praying without ceasing. And I believe that God delights in this.
5. Praying without ceasing: To pray without drying, pray while you wait
Most of us waste a lot of time waiting for our big daily skim mochas, or whatever. A quick search online reports that each of us spends an average of two years of our lives waiting in line, and the average commuter spends 38 hours a year in traffic.
Turn your car into a prayer closet, or let your mind take you somewhere else while the person in line ahead of you buys their drink using four nearly-empty gift cards, then empties their purse for pennies.
Turn wasted time into something meaningful by praying without ceasing
Transform that “lost” time into something meaningful: Pray for the people you hope to meet that day or for the tasks you need to do. Give thanks for your day, for the job that pays for your favorite caffeinated beverage, for the young man who works as a cashier to pay for college tuition, for the extravagant blessing of a giant store with more products than we need. Count your blessings, because they are everywhere, and may those minutes count.
6. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing sing a song of praise.
“Is any among you afflicted? Pray. Is anyone happy? Sing praises” (James 5:13).
Praying without ceasing is praying at all times
Often, we think of prayer as what we should do when we need God to fix something or when we are not happy. But the Bible encourages us to pray without ceasing, to pray at all times.
Remember the idea that prayer is like a radio playing in the background all the time? Make that literal by listening to worship music. As you sing, offer it to God as your prayer. Or, better yet, he makes up your own song along the way. No one is listening except Him, so don’t worry if you’re out of tune.
7. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing, when you’re wrong, admit it.
I don’t know about you, but I could spend most of my time praying endlessly just confessing a litany of my sins and failings: Say for example that I just yelled at my kids; that I’m jealous of the perfect little family that my friends post about daily on Facebook; or that I think so-and-so is a real idiot and I don’t like him… and so on.
Fortunately, when we confess, God forgives us, so we don’t need to stay there. That in itself is another reason to praise it.
8. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing stop worrying.
We should not worry because we waste too many minutes doing just that. The next time something weighs heavily on your heart, imagine reaching out to God and letting him hold it for you.
Ask God what your role is and if there is anything you need to do; if so, do it. But don’t take back the weight of worry. Then start thanking God for who He is and what He has already done for you, and you will feel the weight lift off your shoulders as the words come to you.
9. Praying without ceasing: To pray without ceasing stop talking from time to time. Instead, just listen
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, like the Gentiles, who think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6: 7). Praying without ceasing, but without vain repetitions.
It doesn’t matter how many (or quality) of words you use in prayer, because prayer is about God, not about us. Allow yourself to contemplate the closeness of God. Trust that He is your constant companion.
Praying without ceasing, but without monopolizing the dialogue
To pray without ceasing don’t monopolize the dialogue, spend some of your time just being, just sitting and resting in His presence. And keep in mind that the best conversations are two-way, but you won’t hear anything if they never stop to listen.
Remember that the Bible says Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), therefore, let us keep in mind that as the Lord’s church we are required to pray without ceasing.