What Does It Mean to Pray Without Ceasing?

Pray Without Ceasing, Part 1

I have a theory about biblical commands: If God commands us to do something, it is possible for us obey. Said another way, God won’t command us to do something that can’t be done. Furthermore, God’s instruction is always for our good. If, as both Peter and Paul taught, the Scriptures were written for our instruction, these two points are hard to argue against. To command something impossible would be confusing and unhelpful. To command something harmful would be inconsistent with God’s love for us.

While few may argue with this theory, in practice we sometimes treat God’s commands as unrealistic. We may vaguely aspire to the standards that the Bible sets forth, but we don’t act as though compliance is required.

Some of the Bible’s commands are daunting. To take just a few examples:

• “Bless those who persecute you” (Rom. 12:14)

• “Do not worry about your life” (Mt. 6:25)

• “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18)

Yet if they are possible to achieve – and furthermore if they are commanded –we need to re-examine our assumptions. And if we believe that all of God’s commands are meant for our good, we should want to re-examine those assumptions.

When I started to follow God as a young man, I stumbled at some point across these words from 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray continually,” or as the King James Version has it, “Pray without ceasing.” Given the model of prayer that I had grown up with – uttering words in a reverent posture while attempting to focus completely on God – this command couldn’t be interpreted literally.

However, if I took my faith seriously I couldn’t simply dismiss or ignore a direct command. If the command seemed impossible, my understanding of the command must be incorrect.

For more than thirty years now, I have been exploring what “praying without ceasing” really means. It is the hardest of disciplines for me, but I have found that the best barometer of my spiritual health is whether I am consistently practicing it.

The Greek word translated “continually” in the NIV and “without ceasing” in the KJV is adialeiptos. It does not indicate non-stop praying, but rather prayer that is constantly recurring. Devotional author Henri Nouwen put it this way:

To pray unceasingly . . . would be completely impossible if it meant to think constantly about God. To pray, I think, does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God.^[i]

Elsewhere, Nouwen describes prayer as, “. . . the basic receptive attitude out of which all of life can receive new vitality.”^[ii]

In his book, The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence expresses this premise very simply: “It is practicing God’s presence, realizing He is always present.”^[iii] This enduring spiritual classic was written by a monk who worked as a kitchen helper. The humble nature of his work was no barrier to experiencing God’s presence. God is just as present when we are washing dishes as when we are reading the Bible or sitting in church.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

A visit several years ago with my son James and daughter-in-law Eunice in New York City crystallized this truth for me. I wanted to visit a couple of museums during my stay, so James set aside a day for us to spend together. We walked a great deal that day, and as we walked there were several stretches of time when we were both silent. Our silence didn’t stem from an awkwardness, but because we felt no need to talk. (I should note that we are both men of few words.) Throughout that day, I was always conscious of my son’s presence with me in a way that was filled with joy and gladness. We communicated often, but spoken words were not always needed. While always mindful of his presence, speaking and listening was merely one part of the relational time that we spent together.

Though I live in a world where God is always present, I am not always mindful of his presence. But when I go through my days with that awareness, it changes how I think, what I think about, and how I respond to circumstances and people and challenges.

When I am mindful of God’s presence, I am quick to pray when I need wisdom or patience, or when I need to exhibit kindness or self-control. Paul refers to these traits and behaviors as the “fruit of the Spirit.” Traversing my days with awareness of God’s presence opens my heart so that his Spirit can produce this fruit

For many years, I struggled to carry the peace and perspective that I had gained in my daily minutes of quiet and solitude into the workplace and the world. It was as though, after practicing deep breathing exercises, I took a final breath and gulped as much air into my lungs as I could, then ventured out while trying to hold my breath all day. None of us can hold our breath for very long.

I came to realize that, rather than providing a daily spiritual oasis amid the desert, I had to learn how to irrigate the rest of my life. Only then could I go through my days feeling spiritually refreshed rather than spiritually worn down. God’s provision for what I needed came through this practice of “praying without ceasing.” I think it is what Jesus was evoking when he said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

Next week, in Part 2, I want to share some reflections on how this practice can lead to a fruitful life.

---

^[i] Henri Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing, p. 107.

^[ii] Ibid., p. 37.

^[iii] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, p. ?