- Well, there's several different understandings
of what the biblical phrase "pray without ceasing" means.
Some would say that it means just never come to a point
in your life where you don't pray any more.
Now, I doubt that any real Christian would ever
actually stop praying.
The Bible tells us both in Romans and Galatians
that the Spirit causes us,
we don't merely choose this, the Spirit causes us
to cry out Abba, Father.
So those indwelled by the Holy Spirit
have this new heavenward orientation,
this new Fatherward orientation
they didn't have before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
In other words, those indwelled by the Holy Spirit
really want to pray.
So it's doubtful anyone indwelled by the Holy Spirit,
no matter how few prayers are answered,
no matter how boring their prayer life is.
They can't imagine coming to the point
where they wouldn't pray any more.
So another understanding of what it means
to pray without ceasing is to pray
with persistence about things.
And this would correspond with what Jesus said
in the story of Luke 18, where he told the parable
about the widow and the unjust judge
for the purpose, Luke 18:1 tells us,
that we should always pray and not lose heart.
So some would say, to pray without ceasing means
to don't lose heart, so if you're praying
for something, don't give up.
Pray about it without ceasing until the answer comes
or you're satisfied that God has said no or maybe wait.
But then another idea of what it means
to pray without ceasing is that you're to always
be in the spirit of prayer in one sense.
You're never more than just a thought away from praying.
So God has given us, obviously, our jobs to do
for example, which often require total mental focus.
So how do you pray without ceasing
when God Himself gives us things
to do that require full mental attention?
So it doesn't literally mean that we are to be
consciously talking with God 24/7.
I mean, when would we sleep, you know, otherwise?
So I think what it means is, that we're never more
than a thought away from prayer.
We're always in the spirit of prayer, so to speak.
So I think the simplest way to do that
is just to be ready to turn anything into prayer.
If I'm walking to an appointment,
I pray a prayer about that appointment.
And if I see the beauty of God's creation,
I thank God for that creation.
I try to cultivate a mindset so that everything
I see, everything I feel, every thought I have
is somehow Godward in a sense.
I think of it all in terms of its connection
with God and that in turn prompts me,
"Thank you, Lord, for this.
"I pray for this brother.
"Lord, forgive me for what I've been thinking here."
So that we're constantly in a sense, aware of the presence
of God and conscious of communicating with Him.
So I think all of those things are true.
A Christian should never ever reach a point in life
where you don't need to pray anymore
or think you can give up your devotional life.
It also, the Bible clearly teaches the meaning
that we should be persistent when we're praying
for something, not lose heart,
as Jesus said in Luke 18:1.
But I think the Scriptures also teach the idea
that we're always to be in the spirit of prayer.
Always ready to pray.
Just never more than heartbeat or a thought away
from praying about anything and everything
in which we find ourselves.
- [Narrator] Thanks for watching.
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