“PRAY CONTINUALLY”
1 Thess. 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
A young boy once made a point on the importance of praying with a family who had invited him to dinner. The boy at age six had been taught that it was important to give thanks to God before each meal. As the host family sat at the dinner table and was about to dig in and eat he interrupted and asked, “Don’t you say any prayer before you eat?” The host was embarrassed by the question and mumbled in return, “No, we don’t take time for that.” The boy sat silent for a minute and then said, “Oh, I see, you eat like my dog does; he just starts right in too!”
To this little boy prayer was important ... it should also be to every believer! One of the most neglected parts of being a Christian is often our prayer life, yet it is one of the most critical parts.
God has ordained that prayer be foundation for much of what He does in this world! We can miss out on a great deal of what God has for us if we neglect prayer.
Prayer is much more than just saying words to God with your eyes closed! Paul admonishes the church in Thessalonica to “PRAY CONTINUALLY!” But how is this possible, how can someone pray continually?
The Bible will teach us that our prayer life consists not only of times of speaking to the Lord in prayer but also in communing with the Lord throughout the entire day ... to be in touch with God all the time. Prayer is being in contact with the Lord as well as speaking to him, in this way we can pray continuously!
I. REQUIREMENT OF PRAYER 1 Thess. 5:17a Col. 4:2 Psm. 119:164 Dan. 6:3-28
1 Thess. 5: 17 Pray without ceasing. Col. 4:2
Once again Paul uses a command.
Prayer is not an option for the believer!
The first century church was a praying church, and the Lord was able to work in great ways among them!
Every time we look into the New Testament churches we find them praying, each time we read about the great men and women of the Bible we find them praying!
It is impossible to think about having a healthy relationship with God without prayer!
Just like it would be impossible to have a relationship with someone on earth without speaking to them it is impossible to have a healthy relationship with God without praying!
Prayer is communication, it is the basic way we build and maintain relationships! Since God is without needs, we are the biggest loser when we fail to pray!
God desires our fellowship, prayer is the way!
David mentions in Psm. 119:164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
David’s point was that prayer was important to him, for his daily life with God to be complete he was in constant communion with the Lord!
DANIEL is a good example of how critical prayer was to his life with God, in Dan. 6:3-28 his usual practice to pray 3 times a day ... to Daniel a normal day was one where he was in contact with God at regular intervals! The day was not complete without it!
The story of Daniel’s testimony and the victory in the lion’s den could not have happened without his prayer life! NOTE: It was his faithful prayer life that caused the whole incident of the lion’s den ... he was trapped by laws forbidding praying to any other God other than the king and those who laid the trap knew they could count on him praying to his God faithfully 3 times a day, they knew he was as good as guilty! How many Christians today would be convicted by the evidence if they were taken to court for praying?
PRAYER is critical for the Christian and the church!
We must not claim the importance of prayer and ignore it in our practice or we will never know its power in our lives and others won’t know it either!
Prayer is critical; it is our lifeline to God! It is our communication network with God, it cannot be optional! IT IS A NECESSITY!’
II. PERSONALITY OF PRAYER 1 Thess. 5:17b Eph. 6:18
Prayer is much more than just talking to God at select moments!
If prayer was only talking this command of Paul’s would be impossible!
To pray continually would mean to ignore everything else if it meant only verbal prayers.
Like locking ourselves up in a monastery and doing nothing but praying!
Prayer is much more than just verbal communication ... it is communion of our mind and heart with God at all times, being in contact in with God.
Having our heart and mind on Him all through the day, being conscious of His presence and being in “TUNE” with Him at all times!
It is not only what we say at scheduled times of prayer but the constant sense of communion with the Lord throughout our waking hours!
Like those moments when you are trying to decide what the right thing to do is and you stop to inwardly say, “How do you feel about this Lord?”
It is that sense of God’s presence and our communing with Him all through the day that gives “PRAYING CONTINUALLY” a reality!
It is the awareness of God’s presence being in touch with your life at all times!
It is that constant sense of communion with the Lord that Paul has in mind when he commands the Christians in this text to “PRAY CONTINUALLY!”
Never be without that contact with the Lord throughout the day.
This constant sense of contact will be the thing that will help you overcome temptation and give a steady sense of victory over sin!
It is more important this communion of the heart with God as prayer than just the mere words we might speak!
Anyone can pray, you don’t have to know the right expressions or the correct format, new baby Christians can pray and pray effectively because it is the communion of the heart that is the substance of prayer. This communion can be constant!
When we are really in love with the Lord that same kind of communion with Him takes place, there are certainly those moments when we verbalize our prayers to Him ... but all day we can be in communion (prayer) with Him, our thoughts, our gestures, our every activity is “prayerful!”
The word translated here in 1 Thess. 5:17 “CONTINUALLY” was the same word used for “HACKING COUGH!”
Like something that just doesn’t let up or go away!
Like something that cannot be controlled, it becomes a reflex action.
This is the idea of this kind of prayer life; it doesn’t let up or go away, it is more like a reflex ... something that cannot be stopped in the heart of a real Christian!
It took a prayer to get us into the Kingdom of God (the sinner’s prayer) ... and it will be prayer that keeps us going in the Kingdom of God!
Jesus was continually in prayer and if He needed it when He was perfect how much more do we who are not perfect need it!
Prayer should not be ignored in the Christian life!
God is not looking for people who pray perfectly, or those who know the proper Christian phrases, or the exact theology of prayer, God simply desires communion with us as His Children! This is what prayer is ... COMMUNION WITH GOD!
Your prayer life will grow and mature as you engage in prayer more and more! As I said, it is not just the words, it is the relationship of prayer that Jesus is interested in!
Instead of quoting a bunch of verses on prayer, I’d like to focus on a couple ways we can become people who pray persistently. Most of us don’t need convincing that prayer is important, we just need some practical ways to apply this.
In order to saturate our life with prayer, here are some other practical steps.
Schedule a set time to pray each day. Make an appointment
Pray while you wait.
Pray with others on the phone.
Offer to pray when someone shares a burden with you.
Pray in the car while you’re driving (but keep your eyes open).
Pray for what you see and hear.
A healthy prayer life will give you so much joy and fulfillment, the contact and communion with God will give you strength you never thought possible!
Praying continually is not impossible when prayer is understood in its fullest! Communion with the Lord can happen all during your waking hours!
When this communion exists it sparks the verbal times of prayer ... and even creates those times of spontaneous prayer throughout the day!
Our Lord loves to be in contact with us, this is what prayer is, our communication link with our God!
Don’t miss out on a wonderful lifetime experience!
God desires your fellowship, your thoughts, your heart, and your expressions in words!
Why not do yourself a favor and bless the Lord your God by developing your prayer life!
IN EXPECTATION OF THE RAPTURE
Eph. 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober
CONCLUSION: Prayer is far more than just saying words to God with your eyes shut! It is both the conscious moments of saying prayers with our mouths and the conscious and unconscious communion we have with God throughout the day. Neither one should be ignored! Prayer is vital to the believer and the church while it awaits the return of Christ.
