We know that it is important to pray, as a matter of fact it is the lifeline of communication to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray when things are difficult, or when we need help with something, and even when we desire that God changes our heart and attitude, or the heart and attitude of another. Truly there are many things we can pray for throughout the day. But when we take a look at the prayer life of many who are Christian, there tends to be more of a sporadic habit than a consistent one. This reminds me of how Paul encourages the believers to pray in (1 Thessalonians 5:17), where he says,…..“Pray without ceasing.”
I have always wondered how that is to take place in the life of a Christian. Are we suppose to continue talking to the Lord non-stop, never stopping at all through the day? Maybe it is that we are to just keep an attitude of prayer throughout the day. I think that it means that prayer should be such a part of the believer’s life that the communication just happens without our thinking about doing it, much like breathing. As if we are in constant communication with our Lord, speaking to Him as if He was standing right next to me in a physical sense.
Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of a saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing…..” – maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.
Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayers? Jesus said, “….. Everyone who asks receives…..” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But….., but…..” God answers prayer in the best way – not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer? The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something the aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer our supernatural truths He reveals to us.
Oswald Chambers
Some verses on prayer:
(Psalm 109:4) (Luke 6:12) (Acts 6:4) (Romans 12:12) (Philippians 4:6)