Pray without Ceasing

We Pray 21  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Pray without ceasing, what a peculiar idea. I mean, there are a lot of things that we do “without ceasing” on this Earth- most of which are involuntary. We breathe without ceasing, and our hearts beat without ceasing; we filter our blood and digest without ceasing- these are involuntary actions that our body is constantly doing behind the scenes.
But pray without ceasing is something completely different than that. Prayer is a voluntary function that we knowingly and conscienceless enter into, right? How can someone pray without ceasing anyway? We all have to talk to other’s right? We need to speak to our families, our friends, and coworkers- if I am praying all the time how can I give my order to the Domino’s Pizza guy? What about when I am sleeping, or eating?
Perhaps it would be helpful for us to break away from the literal for a bit. In fact, I might suggest that we can have a better understanding of what Paul meant about prayer without ceasing right now in this point in history than any other time in the existence of the world because of one technological advancement- text messaging.
Think about it- text messaging is the best advancement to passive conversation. Because of text messaging I can have an ongoing conversation with anyone throughout my entire day while doing other things. In fact, while writing part of this sermon I have been texting with Jennifer about some church business. Through texting we can understand how we can be in a day long conversation with someone while being able to still do the other functions of our day.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is a 3 part recipe showing us God’s will for our prayer life. When we put these 3 verses into practice together we see great and powerful results.
Paul challenges us to rejoice always! To find joy in everything that we do; even in the hardest and most bleak of situations. This undergirding of joy comes from our connectedness to Jesus and his mission. But this thought is connected to the next- How do we rejoice always? We pray without ceasing. More prayer leads to more rejoicing.
After all, praying is being in the presence of God, and what could bring a Christian more joy than that?
But Paul goes on- give thanks in all circumstances he says. When we marry prayer and rejoicing- the firstfruit is thankfulness. The more we pray the more thankful we become, because praying gives us a perspective change- it helps us look at the same situation from a different angle, and many times the new angle we see from is the viewpoint of God!
We also see through this verse that the posture and place of prayer are not nearly as important as the heart connected to Christ. Many faith traditions, denominations, and churches have different ideas on the way we should posture ourselves during prayer. Some say we must pray on our knees bowing towards the throne of God; others say “No, you need to pray standing with your arms lifted and making holy hands to God” still others would say “sit with your heads bowed and eyes closed.”
A few years ago we had a praise team visit us for a revival that come from a much more charismatic tradition than we have here at Mt Zion. I remember the singer repetitively said “get in your posture of prayer” she must have said it 5 times and all of us sat with heads bowed and eyes closed- finally I whispered to Jess and said “you think she know this is our posture of prayer?”
The Bible gives all kinds of examples of how people stood, kneeled, and even laid during prayer. What does this lead us to conclude? There is no posture of prayer that guarantees or even increases the likelihood of our prayers being answered. God does not listen to us better if we are kneeling over sitting, or sitting over standing. Why? Because I am convinced that my posture of prayer is more about what I need to connect more fully with God than what God requires of me.
Let me explain that some. Sometimes I kneel when I pray- not because I think kneeling will help God hear me or take me seriously, but because kneeling will help me hear God better and take God more seriously. If I am having a hard time laying down my own will and desire with what I am praying for- I kneel. As a reminder to myself who is in charge- not me, but the one I kneel to- my King Jesus.
We also see through this verse that the place of prayer is not as important as the motive or connection of prayer. If we needed to pray at certain places, like in the church or other area, in order for God to hear then praying without ceasing would be impossible. This is vastly different from some other faith traditions and understandings of God- like Muslims, who teach that the only way to pray is to be facing Mecca. Jesus can hear us anywhere we are, in any place. In fact, while some people think that our prayers might be more effective in the sanctuary of the church- Jesus actually encouraged the opposite in Matt 6 when he told his followers they should go into their closet and shut the door to avoid praying for show in order that those around them would be impressed by their prayers.
So, if prayer without ceasing shows us prayer is not about posture or places, what is it about? I might say it’s about 2 other P’s- privilege and precept.
First, prayer without ceasing reminds us of the great privilege of prayer. Think of it; you have a direct line to Heaven- instant access. Have you ever had to call the doctor for a question or to get a prescription filled? Need to try and find a part for a project your working on and had to leave a message or send an email to check on availability? You ever had to wait on hold for FOREVER to speak to a representative? Not it prayer! We can pray without ceasing because we have a God that listens without ceasing.
Think about this privilege- if you had direct access to the president’s office- would you use it? Would you tell others? What kind of power and influence people would think you have! How much more privilege we have to bend the ear of God! And notice what kind of attitude God says we can have in prayer-Hebrews 4:16 says:
Hebrews 4:16 ESV
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
or 1 John 5:14-15
1 John 5:14–15 ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
The kind of privilege we have is bold and confident!
But it is more than a privilege- it is a precept- in other words a rule or request given to regulate behavior. This is God’s will for you- that is how this passage ends. God commands us to pray without ceasing because ultimately he knows how much prayer forms us and conforms us to his image. Think of it, if the point of prayer is merely asking for things and getting God to intervene on our behalf- prayer without ceasing would be really unnecessary; but that is not the case, right? Instead, if the motive of prayer is to mold us into the image of God- the more we pray the more we will be like him.
It’s much like internships and mentorships. Think about the residency program for a doctor- after all the schooling and studying they spend time shadowing and learning under another physician to make sure they have the skills and practices down that they need to be successful.
Last week we read from John 15- that Jesus wants us to abide with him and him to abide in us- this kind of abiding is formational but it cannot be accomplished with a low investment of time.
Perhaps the most helpful way to conclude this sermon is by thinking about the original word, the original language that Paul used when writing this verse-adialeiptōs means without unnecessary pause- or lacking any delay. In other words, God’s will for your prayer life is that you would not neglect prayer, and not abandon prayer.
Don’t neglect prayer! One of the ladies in our church shared a quote from the book our women’s group just started, the question was “is prayer your spare tire, or your steering wheel?” What about you? Too often and too many people treat prayer like a spare tire- in case of emergency.
The second idea, do not abandon prayer. Prayer can take time, and God does not work on our timetable. I know, it can feel like forever, like God isn’t listening, like you have been praying long enough and it is time for God to respond! But don’t give up- the Devil wants you to stop praying, to stop believing, to abandon hope- it’s exactly what he wants for you.
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