Is Ceaseless Prayer Really Possible?

Have you ever wondered how to respond in a practical way to Paul’s admonition in I Thessalonians 5:18 to “pray without ceasing”? Some of you may have some of the same questions I have wrestled with over the years: How do you do that? What do you pray about continually? Is this even possible?

One extremely useful way to do so in my daily prayer life came to light for me with this one verse:“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his Law he meditates day and night” (Ps.1:2).

Psalm 1 shows us that unceasing prayer begins with an attitude…. delight. That which delights you will be that which you desire and seek after. The Psalmist speaks of the one who has found delight in the Law or Word of the Lord. Rather than looking at prayer as a duty, we should consider looking at it as a delight. A changed attitude changes everything!

Next the Psalmist tells us that this man meditates on the Law (Word) day and night. Here’s the connection to praying without ceasing. The man who delights in the Word of God will be the one who meditates on it day and night. It becomes like breathing to him – something absolutely necessary for life. The Word fills his thoughts and quite naturally those thoughts come before the Lord.

As we look to this model of one who meditates on the Word of God day and night, we realize the Spirit of God has given us an extremely practical way to pray without ceasing. The content of our prayers will be formatted by the Word of God. We begin to think on the Word (meditate) as we go through the day and the Lord births within us the prayers He desires us to pray. Prayer is no longer a requirement or even a scheduled event. It is a lifestyle of delighting in the Lord’s Word and continually talking with Him about that Word. Take this to heart and you will find that it is indeed possible to pray without ceasing!