1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, 16“Rejoice always. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” What does that mean – to pray without ceasing?
Does that mean praying aloud all the time? No, it means to maintain an attitude of prayer, being ready to talk with God at any moment, having a heart that is always open to intimate communication with God throughout the day in every situation. It means having a continual mindset of prayer and dependence on God.
For example, when an ambulance appears in your rearview mirror with its lights flashing and siren wailing, you automatically pull to the side of the road to let it pass. Right? But do we automatically pray for the person being transported to a hospital? Do we pray for the safety of the driver and the one attending to the person in need? Or do we just let the ambulance speed by without a thought of prayer? Do we shoot up a prayer like NASA shoots up a rocket? Possibly, but still, shouldn’t we have a fervency in our hearts at all times? In every situation?
Shouldn’t we strive to integrate prayer into our everyday life and not just for our planned quiet times? Like whenever we see a need, whenever we see a blessing, whenever we are called on to encourage another. Prayer, praise, confession, thanksgiving, seeking His guidance, adoration, are ways that allow us to have a right relationsip with the God of glory, and prayer is just a heartbeat away.
Someone may ask, “Okay, I got it. But God doesn’t answer what I ask anyway, so WHY should I pray?” How would you answer that question? Could we as believers say it is a primary way to develop a right relationship with God – to express what’s on our hearts and to align our hearts with God’s will and His purposes? And it’s okay to ask for discernment to know His will and to sync our hearts to His will even if it isn’t what we had in mind.
Answers to prayer are always a delight, amen? You may recall in my blog from last week, “Prayer in the Midst of Distress,” that I received a text from an out-of-town friend for her granddaughter who was diagnosed with Lymphoma and would have to have chemo 23 hours a day for 5 days then two weeks off and start over for 5 rounds.
Here’s the text I received from Carol this week asking for prayer for her granddaughter, Shelby. Carol writes:
“Here’s an update. Praise the Lord!!!! Monday morning just minutes before Shelby was to start the 23 hour, 5 day a week aggressive red devil chemo, the results came in from the Mayo Clinic, for the biopsy Fish Cancer test. This was the second biopsy that was sent. The first came back inclusive, meaning Shelby had another cancer as well as lymphoma. But, Shelby has only one cancer which is the lymphoma – no other cancers! Therefore, her chemo will only be one day a week at her cancer clinic, like most cancer patients have. No having to carry a backpack around for 23 hours a day for five days! Shelby was smiling before, but now she is really smiling!! She has said if there is ever a cancer to get, the lymphoma that she has is the best to beat. It is the easiest to treat. Thank you so much for your prayers and your blog! God is good! Now prayers are that at the end of 15 weeks the cancer will be gone!! Thank you for being so faithful and generous with your prayers!! Love you! Carol”
Here’s Shelby about to receive her once-a-week chemo treatment: (Notice the two thumbs up)
And this is what it means to pray without ceasing and the reason why we should pray. When we see such dramatic results of answered prayer, it strengthens our faith and prepares us for the times we think God is not answering our prayers. It also teaches us to be able to trust that His purposes are higher than our requests. Sometimes prayer is for our edification, other times to teach us patience, perseverance, and trust. But prayer is always our way of talking intimately with God. And He delights when we come to Him in prayer because He loves us and always works things out for the good of those who love Him.