{"id":90858,"date":"2021-03-12T19:21:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T00:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/prayer\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T21:41:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T01:41:32","slug":"prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">1 Thessalonians 5:17: \u201cPray without ceasing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Paul\u2019s command in <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/1%20Thessalonians%205.17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 Thessalonians 5:17<\/a>,\n\u201cpray without ceasing,\u201d can be very confusing. Obviously, it cannot mean we are\nto be in a head-bowed, eyes-closed posture all day long. &nbsp;But yet this is a command and,\nif we are to be obedient in the pursuit of God\u2019s blessing and communion what\nexactly are we supposed to do?&nbsp; &nbsp;To discover the Biblical answer, we turn to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Historical Context: <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/1%20Thessalonians%201.1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 Thessalonians 1:1<\/a>\nindicates that the Book of 1 Thessalonians was written by the Apostle Paul,\nprobably along with Silas and Timothy in approximately 50 A.D.&nbsp; In the church of Thessalonica\nthere were some misunderstandings about the return of Christ.&nbsp; Paul desired to clear them up in his letter.\nHe also writes it as an instruction of holy living (hence the reference to\nprayer in v. 17).&nbsp; This book can be\napplied to many life situations. It gives us the confidence as Christians that\ndead or alive when Christ comes back we will all be together (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/1%20Thessalonians%204.13-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 Thessalonians 4:13-18<\/a>).\nIt assures us as Christians we won\u2019t receive God\u2019s wrath (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/1%20Thessalonians%205.8-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 Thessalonians 5:8-9<\/a>).\nIt instructs us how to walk the Christian life daily (1 Thessalonians 4-5).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Grammatical Usage: &nbsp;\u201cCeasing\u201d in the Greek is \u201cadialeiptos\u201d\nmeaning \u201cunceasingly.\u201d The term does not refer to unbroken continuity but to\nperforming without omission on any occasion\u2026not of what is uninterrupted but\nthat which is constantly recurring (as opposed to occurring).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Literal Application: \u201cDo\nnot neglect your prayer life.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Contextual\nInterpretation: 1 Thessalonians 5:13-27 consists of Paul\u2019s final exhortations\n(and greetings) to the believers at Thessalonica.&nbsp; In fact, the admonitions of verses 16-22\nprove a formula for victorious Christian living.&nbsp; Here in v. 17, Paul is not referring to non-stop talking, but an attitude of\nGod-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time. Every\nwaking moment is to be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is\nactively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions. <br>\n<br>\nWhen our thoughts turn to worry, fear, discouragement and anger, we are to\nconsciously and quickly turn every thought into prayer and every prayer into\nthanksgiving. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul commands us to stop being\nanxious and instead &#8220;in everything by prayer and supplication with\nthanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God&#8221; (4:6).&nbsp; As we go through the day, prayer should be\nour first response to every fearful situation, to every anxious thought, to\nevery undesired task that God commands. John MacArthur warns that a lack of\nprayer will cause us to stop depending on God&#8217;s grace and depend on ourselves\ninstead. Unceasing prayer is, in essence, dependence upon and communion with\nthe Father.<br>\n<br>\nFor Christians, prayer is like breathing. You don&#8217;t have to think to breathe\nbecause the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and forces you to breathe.\nThat&#8217;s why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe.\nSimilarly, when we&#8217;re born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual\natmosphere where God&#8217;s presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our\nlives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have\nall entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer. Only then can\nwe survive in the darkness of the world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">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 (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/1%20John%205.14-15\" target=\"_blank\">1 John 5:14-15<\/a>), 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&#8217;s timing for our lives. Sometimes we are asking for something that is not God&#8217;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 \u2013 until God grants your request, or convinces you that your request is not His will for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Scriptural Comparison: Paul taught the believers at Colosse to &#8220;devote\nyourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of\nthanksgiving&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Colossians%204.2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colossians 4:2<\/a>). Paul exhorted the Ephesian\nbelievers to see prayer as a weapon to use in fighting spiritual battles (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Ephesians%206.18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ephesians 6:18<\/a>). The famous 19th century\npreacher Charles Spurgeon described the Christian&#8217;s prayer life, saying it is\n&#8220;like the old knights, always in warfare, not always on their steeds\ndashing forward with their lances raised to unhorse an adversary, but always\nwearing their weapons where they could readily reach them. . . . Those grim\nwarriors often slept in their armor; so even when we sleep, we are still to be\nin the spirit of prayer, so that if perchance we wake in the night we may still\nbe with God.\u201d&nbsp; Because ours is such a\nfree and prosperous society, it is easier for Christians to feel secure by\npresuming on\u2014instead of depending on\u2014God&#8217;s grace. Too many believers become\nsatisfied with physical blessings and have little desire for spiritual\nblessings. Having become so dependent on their physical resources, they feel\nlittle need for spiritual resources. When programs, methods, and money produce\nimpressive results, there is an inclination to confuse human success with\ndivine blessing. Christians can actually behave like practical humanists,\nliving as if God were not necessary. When that happens, passionate longing for\nGod and yearning for His help will be missing, as will His empowerment. Because\nof this great and common danger, Paul urged believers to &#8220;pray at all\ntimes&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Ephesians%206.18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ephesians 6:18<\/a>) and\nto &#8220;devote yourselves to prayer&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Colossians%204.2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colossians 4:2<\/a>). Continual, persistent,\nincessant prayer is an essential part of Christian living and flows out of\ndependence on God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Jesus\u2019\npoint in Luke 18:1-7 is that if an unjust judge will grant the request of\nsomeone who perseveres, how much more will the God who loves us answer and\nguide us when we keep praying.&nbsp; Similar\nto the parable of the unjust judge, Jesus\u2019 message in <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Luke%2011.5-12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Luke 11:5-12<\/a> is that if a man will\ninconvenience himself to provide for a friend, God will provide for our needs\nfar more, since no request is an inconvenience to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Both of\nthese passages encourage us to pray \u2013 and to keep praying! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Conclusion: Unfortunately, many believers hold their spiritual\nbreaths for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to\nallow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused\nby sinful desires. The fact is, every believer must be continually in the\npresence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, to be fully functional.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 Thessalonians 5:17: \u201cPray without ceasing.\u201d Paul\u2019s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, \u201cpray without ceasing,\u201d can be very confusing. Obviously, it cannot mean we are to be in a head-bowed, eyes-closed posture all day long. &nbsp;But yet this is a command and, if we are to be obedient in the pursuit of God\u2019s blessing and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526,535],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Prayer - Grace Evangelical Free Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prayer - Grace Evangelical Free Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"1 Thessalonians 5:17: \u201cPray without ceasing.\u201d Paul\u2019s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, \u201cpray without ceasing,\u201d can be very confusing. 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