How to Actually Pray Without Ceasing
- Oct 14, 2015
- 3 min read
One of Paul's most often quoted, yet rarely understood, teachings is in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 where he tells his readers to "pray without ceasing." This has confused a lot of Christians, because frankly, it just seems like an impossible task! Even if you could somehow subconsciously pray (i.e. dialogue with God) at the same time that you are engaged in activities like having a deep conversation with your spouse, doing your taxes, or trying to read the cryptic instructions that came with your new Lego Millennium Falcon, how could you ever keep praying while you're asleep? The answer is (drum roll, please): you can't.
Now before I go any further with this, let me state what should be completely obvious if you know me even a little bit: I am absolutely a fan of learning to keep your dialogue with God active throughout the day. I often pray while I drive or mow the lawn. I even value ancient attempts at praying without ceasing, such as repeating the "Jesus Prayer" over and over throughout the day. However, when I am intently reading a classic like Celebration of Discipline, or focused on listening to that homeless man tell me his life story of brokenness and abuse, I take a break from praying so that I can pay attention. But trust me, I constantly break that attention in order to speak with God and ensure that I am remaining in step with Holy Spirit. Yet, obviously, this isn't praying without ceasing.
I am also a fan of taking Paul at his word, which the NIV comes dangerously close to avoiding by translating Paul's words as "pray continually." Praying continually (or often) I can do, but that isn't what Paul commanded.
Unfortunately, we are missing Paul's point because of our tendency to individualize the Scriptures. The fact is, Paul was writing to a church, not an individual, and his words need to be understood in that way. Paul was telling the church in Thessalonica to pray without ceasing, not individuals. He hints at this in his introduction by saying that "we pray for you without ceasing" (italics mine). This interpretation also makes sense in the context of Israel's longstanding history of 24/7 worship and prayer in the Temple instituted by King David, and by prophecies like Isaiah 62:6-7, that God would raise up watchmen (plural) who would never cease to pray for the restoration of Jerusalem. Peter describes this reality beautifully in saying that we, "like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God."
Together, as the church–the "dwelling place of God" (Eph. 2:22)–we can sustain unceasing 24/7 prayer just as King David did in Israel, and just as many Christian communities have done for the past 2,000 years. It's time to truly understand Paul's command to "pray without ceasing," and to make it happen in our cities. If prayer really works, it only makes sense to organize our communities so that the pleasing aroma of dialogue with God never ceases or ends! And, if prayer is actually effective, consider the transformation that will occur in our cities as 24/7 prayer fills the world. Thankfully, God is once again raising up an organic prayer movement throughout the nations that is restoring the value of unceasing prayer.
The bottom line is this: If we are going to honestly pray, "... let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," (italics mine) then we must pray for unceasing prayer to be sustained in our world (Rev. 4:8).
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