"Pray without ceasing" — I Thess. 5:17
Prayer, as it is ordinarily thought of and practiced, is much like "church" for , many Christians: a short season of exposure to God from which we walk away when the session is over. It is perceived as an exercise engaged in from time to time or at stated intervals in which we address God in a more or less formal way; something included in our "quiet time," or before meals and occasionally more aggressively undertaken in "Prayer Meeting."
The challenge of our text for today, as I see it, is to make prayer as significant in our spiritual life as breathing is to our physical life: essential, continuous, autonomic. It is God's desire to bring us into a relationship with Himself in which communion is constant and uninterrupted. Prayer is the special vehicle for that kind of relationship.
This is not an isolated text. Jesus taught, as we noted recently, "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint [Luke 18:1]." To the Romans Paul exhorted, "[continue] instant in prayer [Rom. 12:12];" the meaning is 'be constantly diligent.' The Ephesians are urged to be "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance… {Eh. 5:18]." Note, incidentally, the immediate connection with the Word of God in v.17. To the Philippians the instruction is, "Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus [Phil 4:6-7]." And to the Colossians he writes, "Continue in prayer… [Col. 4:2]," as in Romans 12:12.
Taken together these verses indicate that this kind of prayer is a deterrent to fainting under life's load (Lk. 18:1) and an antidote for anxiety in the face of life's fears (Phil. 4:6.) It is worthy of note, too, that living in an atmosphere of prayer, which cultivates a continual consciousness of the presence of the Lord, is our best deterrent for sin. If we learn to pray without ceasing, and to pray about everything, how different our spiritual life will be. Every trial will be examined in fellowship with God. Every test will be entered into in the consciousness of His presence. Every triumph will be discussed in communion with Him, restraining pride. And, most importantly, every temptation will be confronted with Him consciously present.
There are trials that overwhelm us, tests we fail, victories that tempt us to vanity and pride and sins we indulge in because for the moment (or longer!) God is thrust into the background of our lives. Praying without ceasing will correct that, keeping Him in the foreground, in conscious fellowship, where He belongs. There are sins of attitude and action that we would not commit if Christ was in the same room with us. Prayer, as a constant, creates and maintains that sense of His presence.
Someone has been quoted as saying, "I could overcome every obstacle if I could hear Christ in the next room praying for me. But what matter it; He is praying for me." That is true, and a fine concept, but Christ is not in the next room; He is in this room. And if I learn to 'pray without ceasing,' we will be facing every challenge together!
For victory, real and enduring,
"Pastor" Frasier
Prayer, as it is ordinarily thought of and practiced, is much like "church" for , many Christians: a short season of exposure to God from which we walk away when the session is over. It is perceived as an exercise engaged in from time to time or at stated intervals in which we address God in a more or less formal way; something included in our "quiet time," or before meals and occasionally more aggressively undertaken in "Prayer Meeting."
The challenge of our text for today, as I see it, is to make prayer as significant in our spiritual life as breathing is to our physical life: essential, continuous, autonomic. It is God's desire to bring us into a relationship with Himself in which communion is constant and uninterrupted. Prayer is the special vehicle for that kind of relationship.
This is not an isolated text. Jesus taught, as we noted recently, "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint [Luke 18:1]." To the Romans Paul exhorted, "[continue] instant in prayer [Rom. 12:12];" the meaning is 'be constantly diligent.' The Ephesians are urged to be "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance… {Eh. 5:18]." Note, incidentally, the immediate connection with the Word of God in v.17. To the Philippians the instruction is, "Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus [Phil 4:6-7]." And to the Colossians he writes, "Continue in prayer… [Col. 4:2]," as in Romans 12:12.
Taken together these verses indicate that this kind of prayer is a deterrent to fainting under life's load (Lk. 18:1) and an antidote for anxiety in the face of life's fears (Phil. 4:6.) It is worthy of note, too, that living in an atmosphere of prayer, which cultivates a continual consciousness of the presence of the Lord, is our best deterrent for sin. If we learn to pray without ceasing, and to pray about everything, how different our spiritual life will be. Every trial will be examined in fellowship with God. Every test will be entered into in the consciousness of His presence. Every triumph will be discussed in communion with Him, restraining pride. And, most importantly, every temptation will be confronted with Him consciously present.
There are trials that overwhelm us, tests we fail, victories that tempt us to vanity and pride and sins we indulge in because for the moment (or longer!) God is thrust into the background of our lives. Praying without ceasing will correct that, keeping Him in the foreground, in conscious fellowship, where He belongs. There are sins of attitude and action that we would not commit if Christ was in the same room with us. Prayer, as a constant, creates and maintains that sense of His presence.
Someone has been quoted as saying, "I could overcome every obstacle if I could hear Christ in the next room praying for me. But what matter it; He is praying for me." That is true, and a fine concept, but Christ is not in the next room; He is in this room. And if I learn to 'pray without ceasing,' we will be facing every challenge together!
For victory, real and enduring,
"Pastor" Frasier
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