1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us “pray without ceasing;”
You may be thinking, “I have responsibilities. How can I pray without ceasing? I can’t be on my knees praying without stopping. This can’t be what the Bible expects from us.”
Don’t worry, prayer doesn’t have to be a burden. It doesn’t have to be locking yourself in a room alone for hours on you knees on a cold, hard stone floor like the monks of the middle ages. Prayer is just what you need to help you on your next step to growing closer to Jesus.
Analogy of old married couple and believer with God
As believers, our prayer relationship with God should be like the way an old, loving couple talks. They don’t talk without stopping to do other things, but they are always talking and keeping the other person included in what they do and what they care about.
They also have lots of different kinds of conversation. Some are deep conversations that take an extended period of time. Some are brief comments about what is going on in their life. Some are pointing out something interesting or asking for help. Sometimes the words are just an acknowledgement of the other’s presence. Sometimes communications may be no more than a glance or a grunt, but it conveys so much because of how close they are.
Scheduled time
Just like the old married couple schedules a date night or other time together, there are times that we want to schedule time with God. It might be a group prayer meeting. It might be a time alone to discuss particular worries with God. This is usually an extended time to pray about something in particular. It may be scheduled regularly. It may be scheduled specifically based on circumstances.
To many people, this is what they think of when they think about being a prayer warrior, but the truth is, at least for most of us, this is the smallest portion of our prayer life.
Regular time
Just like an old married couple has times that they are regularly together and talking, such as first thing in the morning when they awake and say “Good morning!” or just talk about their plans for the day. Most couples regularly talk during meals together. These discussions might be about how the day is going or about plans for the future or about various common interests. Most couples also talk at least briefly at bed time. They know that almost every day they will talk during these periods.
In the same way, believers should have regular times that they talk to God. I think upon waking, at meals, and at bedtime are good times to pray regularly. That doesn’t mean that you always have to pray for extended periods . Most of these will probably be fairly short and the time allowed may vary from day to day.
Praying at these 5 times is handy because you wake up and go to bed every day and most people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. These events are reminders to pray. You may have other times like when you pick kids up at school, when you get in your car to drive, or nightly devotions before putting kids to bed. You might have other times that work for you because everyone’s life is a little different. Some of these may be solitary prayers, while others might include someone else, especially family members. Whatever the case, these are times that you usually pray every day. They are guaranteed times with God. They are times God can count on you and you can count on God.
With others
An old married couple usually doesn’t hang out only with each other. They also hang out and talk with friends and family. They will get together with some friends/family on regular occasions. They will get together with others on special occasions. This is a nice time of jointly conversing and helping each other.
Believers also are called to pray together.
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42) {emphasis mine}
We may pray with a person or group. We may pray at church, a Bible study, or a prayer meeting. We may regularly meet with one or more people just to pray for our church, our country, and each other.
For 2-3 years I had a friend I would pray with once a week for about an hour. We were both very busy. We both homeschooled kids and had other responsibilities. We didn’t live near each other, so we prayed together on the phone. We made prayer together work, even when it wasn’t convenient, because it was important to us.
Depending on our life circumstances, we may pray with others more or less. (Singles usually have less opportunities to pray with others, while families always have each other to pray with.) Whether or not it happens every day, we are called to pray to God with other believers and for other believers.
Random discussion (Thanks, interests, & Concerns)
Random discussion normally should be the largest component of communications between a couple and between believers and God. These prayers are not planned or organized. They are a sign that we are including another in our daily lives because they are important to us.
Sometimes these prayers are a quick comment on what is happening in our lives. Sometimes these prayers are about a worry or concern. They can be a mention of something we find interesting or something we find beautiful. It may be a comment on something we learned or about us finally understanding something. Frequently they are prayers to say a quick “help” or “thank you.”
These little brief prayers shot up to God, usually while doing the normal activities of life, are just a sign that we find God important and want Him in our life. You may say, “Wow! That is a great view! You made beautiful mountains.” You may say, “I’m really struggling with this. Please help me do better.” You may say, “What is happening in the world is scary. Please help me to know what to do and help me to trust you in all things.” You might ask, “What am I supposed to say to this unbeliever to draw them to you?” or “How do I speak wisely to this person who is hurting?” We are including God in our lives and listening to Him because we want His opinion and guidance.
We may speak out loud or we may think our prayers silently where only God hears. We usually aren’t kneeling. We usually don’t have our hands folded, nor do we have our eyes closed.
If we are truly depending on God to guide our lives, these prayers should be a huge part of our lives. They should be sprinkled consistently through our day.
Cries for help
Part of the joy of a long and loving marriage is having someone to depend on when we are in need, whether sick, or tired, or sad, or frustrated, or physically unable to do something ourselves. We always have that other person to depend on and lean on.
And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
In the same way believers should lean on God to support them throughout their lives. I’ll admit that I used to only “bother God” with my really big concerns. I wasn’t comfortable asking Him for help with my little, day-to-day concerns, but that was pushing God away.
Unlike with a person who has a limited amount of time and energy, God can see and hear all prayers throughout all of history at the same time and not even break a sweat. We aren’t bothering God with our requests. We are honoring Him with our requests. He wants to be not only a part of our lives, but the leading part of our lives. When we ask for His help, His wisdom, His guidance, and His power, we are doing exactly what we should and we are growing our relationship with Him.
It is good to continually ask God for help, but that doesn’t mean we should ask for every petty desire. Our prayers shouldn’t be filled with requests for wealth, fame, and power. All prayers should include the same qualifier (even if not stated explicitly) Jesus used right before going to the cross, saying, “… yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42b) We should be praying our problems and leaving the solution to Him. He frequently will answer in ways we never imagined (and frequently would never choose for ourselves), but these answers are always for our good.1
Conclusion
As you can see, praying continually is just a lifestyle. It is a way of including God in our lives. It is a way of showing we trust God fully. It is a way of serving God and being used by God.
In reality, praying continually isn’t as hard as it sounds. Like all habits, it just takes a little time to build the habit. Once prayer becomes a part of your life, it doesn’t feel like work, it just happens. It is as natural as talking to your best friend or spouse or parents or kids. You can’t imagine not talking to God continually.
I’ll end with these lyrics:
What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and grieves to bear
What a privilege it is to carry
Everything to God in prayer
Have we trials and temptations
Is there trouble anywhere
Our precious Savior
He is still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer
When we're weak and heavy laden
Cumbered with a load of care
We should never be discouraged
When we take it to the Lord in prayer
Oh what peace we often forfeit
Oh what needless pain we bear
We should never be discouraged when we
Take it to the Lord in prayer
Trust Jesus.
your sister in Christ,
Christy
Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated
FYI, If you are wondering what to say, this acrostic (ACTS) is a handy for outline for prayer:
A = Adoration -Praise God for who He is
C = Confession - Admit our sins and His righteous lordship
T = Thanks - Thank God for all He has done for us including our salvation
S = Supplication - Make requests from God for help and to supply our needs.
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I’m currently working on a 2nd book, Joy in the Storm: Growing my faith in a very good God that tells the story of the many trials that God put me through, but which I would never have taken away because of the wondrous things they did for me and my family.
Thanks for explaining a lot about how prayer can be incorporated into our daily lives.
I've often thought about how short and 'on the spot' Nehemiah's prayer was in Nehemiah 2:4. He was standing before the king, who had just asked him a question. If he didn't answer quickly, he'd be insulting the king who could say the word and have his head cut off. But he took a few seconds to pray to the God of heaven before answering. Our prayers don't have to be long or fancy.