16Rejoice always; 17pray without ceasing; 18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
When studying Scripture, three operative questions are helpful, like mental crowbars. The first is, “What does the passage mean?” In our study for today, what does it mean to pray without ceasing? The meaning of the text is clear. “Prayer” is the standard word for talking with God, and “without ceasing” means to talk with God constantly. Ephesians 6:18 tells us similarly, “With all prayer and petitions, pray at all times. . . .”
This begets the second operative question for studying Scripture: “How does it work?” How do we pray without ceasing? Are we to become monks who do nothing but pray? What about when we are asleep or need to buy groceries or do all the other things in life that require our mental attention?
A simple illustration might help at this point. My neighbor was assigned for a year to work in a distant city. His wife remained at home because of her own responsibilities. However, in the evenings they would make a phone call, put their phones on speaker, and leave them on for the entire evening. They could talk back and forth through the evening as though there were in each other’s presence. They weren’t actually verbally conversing all of the time, but they were nonetheless in continual communication. They would slip in and out of conversation, as any couple would do at home. At times they would watch the same movie on the internet and chit-chat during it—as though they were together. Similarly, praying without ceasing means to be in continual communication with God, sometimes with conversation, sometimes without. It is a constant awareness, where at times the verbal interaction comes and goes very naturally as though the Lord Jesus was walking alongside you, driving in the car with you, sitting at your desk with you, or watching a movie with you.
Implied in all this, prayer is not something we compartmentalize to certain times of the day, when we go into special prayer posture and voice tone or inflection, or when we recite a prayer of thanksgiving before our meals. These things are merely part of the continuum of prayer consciousness that we should develop, an ongoing, ever-present communion with the Lord.
A third question is, “Do I believe it?” Of course, we believe all Scripture is God-breathed and therefore true (2 Tim. 3:16); therefore we believe we should pray without ceasing. But do I believe it for myself that this is important? If I did believe this, I would develop it. I would set constant reminders for myself until it becomes part of my daily awareness of life.
Lord, help me to continually grow in my conversation with You in my daily life.
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