1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.”
Paul’s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing,” can be very confusing. Obviously, it cannot mean we are to be in a head-bowed, eyes-closed posture all day long. But yet this is a command and, if we are to be obedient in the pursuit of God’s blessing and communion what exactly are we supposed to do? To discover the Biblical answer, we turn to:
- Historical Context: 1 Thessalonians 1:1 indicates that the Book of 1 Thessalonians was written by the Apostle Paul, probably along with Silas and Timothy in approximately 50 A.D. In the church of Thessalonica there were some misunderstandings about the return of Christ. Paul desired to clear them up in his letter. He also writes it as an instruction of holy living (hence the reference to prayer in v. 17). This book can be applied to many life situations. It gives us the confidence as Christians that dead or alive when Christ comes back we will all be together (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). It assures us as Christians we won’t receive God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9). It instructs us how to walk the Christian life daily (1 Thessalonians 4-5).
- Grammatical Usage: “Ceasing” in the Greek is “adialeiptos” meaning “unceasingly.” The term does not refer to unbroken continuity but to performing without omission on any occasion…not of what is uninterrupted but that which is constantly recurring (as opposed to occurring).
- Literal Application: “Do not neglect your prayer life.”
- Contextual
Interpretation: 1 Thessalonians 5:13-27 consists of Paul’s final exhortations
(and greetings) to the believers at Thessalonica. In fact, the admonitions of verses 16-22
prove a formula for victorious Christian living. Here in v. 17, Paul is not referring to non-stop talking, but an attitude of
God-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time. Every
waking moment is to be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is
actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions.
When our thoughts turn to worry, fear, discouragement and anger, we are to consciously and quickly turn every thought into prayer and every prayer into thanksgiving. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul commands us to stop being anxious and instead “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (4:6). As we go through the day, prayer should be our first response to every fearful situation, to every anxious thought, to every undesired task that God commands. John MacArthur warns that a lack of prayer will cause us to stop depending on God’s grace and depend on ourselves instead. Unceasing prayer is, in essence, dependence upon and communion with the Father.
For Christians, prayer is like breathing. You don’t have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and forces you to breathe. That’s why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we’re born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual atmosphere where God’s presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our lives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer. Only then can we survive in the darkness of the world.
There is nothing wrong with repeatedly asking for the same thing. As long as what you are praying for is within the will of God (1 John 5:14-15), keep asking until God grants your request or removes the desire from your heart. Sometimes God forces us to wait for an answer to our prayers in order to teach us patience and perseverance. Sometimes we are asking for something when it is not yet in God’s timing for our lives. Sometimes we are asking for something that is not God’s will for us, and He is saying no. Prayer is not only our presenting requests to God, it is God presenting His will to our hearts. Keep on asking, keep on knocking, keep on seeking – until God grants your request, or convinces you that your request is not His will for you.
- Scriptural Comparison: Paul taught the believers at Colosse to “devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers to see prayer as a weapon to use in fighting spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:18). The famous 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon described the Christian’s prayer life, saying it is “like the old knights, always in warfare, not always on their steeds dashing forward with their lances raised to unhorse an adversary, but always wearing their weapons where they could readily reach them. . . . Those grim warriors often slept in their armor; so even when we sleep, we are still to be in the spirit of prayer, so that if perchance we wake in the night we may still be with God.” Because ours is such a free and prosperous society, it is easier for Christians to feel secure by presuming on—instead of depending on—God’s grace. Too many believers become satisfied with physical blessings and have little desire for spiritual blessings. Having become so dependent on their physical resources, they feel little need for spiritual resources. When programs, methods, and money produce impressive results, there is an inclination to confuse human success with divine blessing. Christians can actually behave like practical humanists, living as if God were not necessary. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help will be missing, as will His empowerment. Because of this great and common danger, Paul urged believers to “pray at all times” (Ephesians 6:18) and to “devote yourselves to prayer” (Colossians 4:2). Continual, persistent, incessant prayer is an essential part of Christian living and flows out of dependence on God.
Jesus’ point in Luke 18:1-7 is that if an unjust judge will grant the request of someone who perseveres, how much more will the God who loves us answer and guide us when we keep praying. Similar to the parable of the unjust judge, Jesus’ message in Luke 11:5-12 is that if a man will inconvenience himself to provide for a friend, God will provide for our needs far more, since no request is an inconvenience to Him.
Both of these passages encourage us to pray – and to keep praying!
- Conclusion: Unfortunately, many believers hold their spiritual breaths for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is, every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, to be fully functional.