Pray Without Ceasing

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

Prayer is vital to the Christian.  It, along with Scripture reading, is our bread and butter.  Prayer for the believer is to be ongoing.  At times, it is mournful when the Holy Spirit shows us our sin or the sin of another - for the purpose of intercession, but it is also joyful – like a dance.   

When we ask God for our needs to be met, our plea must be enveloped in thanksgiving.  Expectancy should accompany our faith-filled prayers.

But prayer is more than just asking; it is being.  Prayer is a relationship with our God.  He desires to speak to us and show us things in the Spirit so we can better know and serve Him.  He wants to heal us, restore us, comfort us, and discipline us.  His discipline comes from a heart of love so that we can grow.

Prayer also is to be rooted in God’s word.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  Truth in the Scriptures comes from The Truth (Jesus).  When we meditate on God’s word, we are practicing an essential type of prayer, and we are getting to know the Author of the word better and better.

When faced with the command to pray without ceasing, one can become overwhelmed at the idea.  I have found that when I start my day in prayer and Bible reading, it becomes more natural for me to live in an attitude of prayer throughout the day.  When I fall, I ask for the Lord’s forgiveness, and then I walk on.

As long as we live, we will be learning in this Christian journey.   

Let’s choose to incorporate prayer into our daily lives.  We will find that our intimacy with Him will grow into something we relish all the day long.