Steps to Christ Chapter 11 The Privilege of Prayer Infographicby emmanuel_higgins
5:171 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
To pray without ceasing is to keep up persevering, earnest and constant prayer, not faint, occasional or fitful praying but a continuing spirit of intercession that does not stop. It does not mean staying on the knees or speaking aloud at every moment, for silent petitions for help, light, strength and guidance can ascend to God wherever a person is and whatever is being done. Such prayer is the breath of the soul, the heart continually uplifted in steady dependence on God until every breath becomes prayer, joined with rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything. It keeps the believer watchful and close to God, giving access by faith to grace and power to resist temptation when Satan sets unexpected snares and daily dangers beset every path. No sincere prayer is lost, whether poured out in private or breathed silently amid noise and business, for God hears and answers, and Jesus as Advocate joins humble prayer with the merits of His obedience and presents it to the Father, while prayer is to be joined with determined action, faithful work and loving service in daily life.
What Continual Prayer Means
The command is to persevering, earnest, constant prayer, not faint, occasional, or fitful prayer, but a continuing spirit of intercession that does not stop. It means bringing every need to God, including small daily cares, work, desires, and needs, and persisting without wearying Him. Continuing in prayer fixes the soul on Jesus and changes it into His likeness, like a flower turning toward the light. Such prayer, joined with watchfulness, is needed to gain and hold victory over the powers of darkness, as part of the daily work of faith. Continual prayer disciplines the soul for co-partnership with Jesus Christ and for work and companionship with heavenly angels, and such prayer is heard in heaven. Even amid daily work the soul can be lifted to God to receive strength for resisting temptation and remaining faithful to truth, right, and justice.
Continual prayer does not require remaining on the knees or speaking aloud at every moment. Silent petitions for help, for light, for strength, for knowledge, and for guidance can ascend to God wherever a person is and whatever they are doing. Wherever people are they are to ask the Lord for help and strength to do His holy will, and need not wait for a chance to kneel. This prayer is offered with humility, meekness, and a lowly spirit, as part of a living union with Christ sustained by active faith. There is never a time when a person should feel able to stop praying, for it is a life of continuing prayer, not vocal prayer at every moment, and asking in faith and believing brings returns. Thoughts are to ascend continually in silent earnest supplication for the Holy Spirit to attend Bible study and give direction, mistrusting human wisdom as nothing and having faith in God.
There is no time or place where it is inappropriate to offer a petition to God, and nothing can prevent lifting the heart to Him in earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street and in the midst of a business engagement a petition for divine guidance may be sent up, as Nehemiah did when he made his request before King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever a person is by keeping the door of the heart open continually with an invitation going up for Jesus to come and abide in the soul as a heavenly guest. Prayer is to be continual, like the soul's breath, with silent requests rising to God wherever a person is. The heart is to be continually uplifted until every breath becomes a prayer expressing steady dependence on God.
Every breath can be a prayer, joined with keeping the eyes fixed on Jesus and trusting Him when the way ahead is unclear. Prayer is the soul breathing out to God at all times and in all places, and a spirit of continual prayer helps people know God's will. It continues through every moment and circumstance: in trial, uncertainty, and perplexity, every breath can be a prayer. Continual prayer means watching, believing, and entrusting the situation to God while waiting patiently for Him to lead, rather than acting rashly to escape difficulty, accompanying a life of faith, not reliance on feelings.
Constant prayer is a sacred duty God has authority to require, with obligation to obey and gracious reward for obedience, and it is also a privilege. Constant watchfulness and constant prayer are necessary for every soul to successfully resist the wiles of the great deceiver, keep a living connection with God, and honor God. The idea that prayer is not essential and that vocal prayer is not taught in the word of God is a device to ruin souls. Prayer is addressing the mind to God as the Fountain of wisdom and the Source of strength and peace and happiness, including acknowledgment of divine perfections, gratitude for mercies received, penitential confession of sins, and earnest entreaty for blessing both for self and for others. God's people, especially those carrying responsibilities in His work, are to seek Him together and pray continually for a free anointing for His sacred work, accompanying a life of faith that brings confidence and cheerful assurance because the Lord hears prayer.
The verse includes a brief cry for help sent from the heart in any circumstance, including danger, difficulty, grief, care, or temptation, when other forms of prayer are impossible. Such prayer commits a person to God's guidance and protection and brings comfort, support, and help through faithful love and power. It is a resource alongside — not a substitute for — public, family, and private worship. Silent petitions may rise to God while working at home or school or elsewhere, or while walking, and this continual prayer does not replace regular times for prayer, which should not be neglected. Such a life of prayer helps people overcome natural evils and evil traits and find peace, hope, and joy in Christ, and their words and example can encourage others to do right.
Rejoicing Thanks and Praise
Praying without ceasing belongs together with rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything as the continuing life of the believer. This threefold life of prayer, rejoicing, and thanksgiving in every circumstance is a life of faith, victory, and joy in God. It is God's will in Christ Jesus. As a continual part of Christian life it belongs to the growth of Christian character and expresses the peace and spiritual graces formed in the heart.
Prayer is not only asking for things but is to be joined with thanksgiving and praise for God's goodness and mercies. Giving thanks does not mean praying too much; gratitude strengthens prayer and deepens love for God while needs are still brought to Him. Earnest and continual prayer must not crowd out praise, and praise must not be neglected. God's children are to honor His character, show the sustaining power of His grace, and give thanks for His compassion and the salvation made known through redemption. The theme of redemption deserves careful thought and study, and praise for His wonderful works should come from the heart, soul, and voice.
The call to thanksgiving means showing politeness to God for His blessings by thanksgiving and praise that glorifies Him. This includes knowing those who labor among believers, keeping peace, and letting a visible light shine before others. The praise is to be audible and revived as old-fashioned religion, with voices in meeting saying Praise God, Glory be to God, Thank the Lord, and Praise the Lord when blessing comes or hearts are touched by preaching, and offering such praise glorifies God and is not fanaticism.
Unceasing prayer is cheerful, thankful communion that clothes the life with joy and gladness instead of heaviness and mourning. Those who receive Christ as a sin-pardoning Saviour have sin taken away and His righteousness and light imparted, so their joy is full. With the expectation of being children of the heavenly King and members of the royal family, and with the gospel as good tidings of great joy and the promises of God freely accepted bringing heaven's brightness into the life, Christians have the best right to sing songs of rejoicing. While staying sober and watchful and never becoming light or frivolous, they are always to be cheerful and to express the Christian hope in joyous songs of praise and thanksgiving, in which heavenly angels join and cannot be silent. Continuing prayer is to be offered with faith and humble walking with God so that God may be glorified.
Watchfulness Against Temptation and Evil
Continual prayer keeps believers watchful so that worldly cares and pursuits do not crowd godliness out of the soul, and without it they risk growing careless and gradually backsliding while still believing themselves in good spiritual condition. Watchfulness and persevering, almost unceasing prayer are required to exhibit a sanctified life, and overcoming requires unceasing prayer for heavenly aid joined with constant watchfulness, with help sent to the earnest and persevering desire to overcome. It is a continual, lifelong effort to resist the enemy and overcome, remaining watchful and persistent, never careless or off guard, while relying on God's grace. Because Satan sets snares and may attack when and where least expected, believers must watch and pray continually at every moment, lest being unwatched they be overcome and suffer loss.
Such prayer gives access by faith to God's grace and power needed to resist temptation and the enemy's efforts to draw people into sin. Earnest prayer joined with living faith and confident dependence on God brings the help needed to overcome the forces of evil and gain victory, and it has power because God alone can give that help. Christians should pray earnestly and frequently in private and persist in interceding with God, asking Him to keep them from the evil in the world, for when they fail to pray they are left strengthless against Satan's temptations. Holding still, watching and praying continually while dying to self resists the devil through Jesus Christ, repulses the enemy, breaks deception, refuses any link with Satan, lays hold of God's strength to make peace with Him, and enables learning obedience through suffering for service in saving souls. The Christian life is one of continual, earnest prayer of faith expressing daily dependence on God, who must supply fresh light and strength for each day's trials and changing temptations, since yesterday's blessings cannot sustain tomorrow's conflicts, and through Christ God accepts prayers offered in Jesus' name to bring the light and strength needed to resist Satan.
Keeping the Lord always before the mind leaves communion with God unbroken and defense against evil intact, since good purposes and good intentions alone cannot withstand evil in places of temptation. When that communion is broken defense is departed, and short decisive steps lead down from holy ground, where one failure to overcome leaves the soul unguarded and one unresisted habit strengthens into steel chains. Prayer therefore must be earnest, persevering and constant rather than faint, occasional and fitful, and prayer joined with faith accomplishes what no earthly power can accomplish. It does not always require bowing on the knees, but cultivating the habit of talking with the Saviour when alone, when walking, and when busy with daily labor, with the heart continually uplifted in silent petition for help, for light, for strength, for knowledge, until every breath becomes prayer. This is especially needed for those in constant contact with evil to rescue others, who need a strong hold upon God lest they be corrupted, since daily temptation and danger beset every path and past experience cannot guide new scenes and trials without continual light from God. Christ is ever sending messages to those who listen for His voice, but drowsiness and stupor cause loss of divine instruction, power and strengthening for terrible scenes ahead, as with the sleeping disciples on the night of agony in Gethsemane.
Every movement to draw near to God meets His response as He hears and answers, and the working of the Holy Spirit produces an inward change of heart matching what the soul needs. The time of temptation when people are led from right to wrong comes when they trust their own smartness and ability, while circumstances and impressions press to mold their decisions, and continual prayer keeps the heart close to God against the resulting self-gratulation and pride, self rising to resist what is said or thought, combativeness, discontent, peevishness, evil surmisings, uncharitable thoughts, and censure. This continual communion is how Enoch walked with God, and workers need not remain on their knees but can keep lifting their hearts to God, which guards against self-reliance and working in one's own strength instead of in Christ's. Keeping the heart constantly drawn out after God in unceasing prayer joined with constant watchfulness and humble trust is necessary for doing God's work, since nothing can be accomplished without the Lord's help, but those who make Him their only trust and labor in humility of mind will have His presence with them, and in His strength they can do great things, receiving His help, strengthening, and blessing. Constant prayer joined with spiritual wakefulness is required because the great enemy never slumbers nor sleeps but works to deceive and subvert souls, and staying awake in prayer keeps believers from falling into a routine sleep that lets Satan sow tares and bring in false propositions and resolutions through unconsecrated men when watchmen are not vigilant to sound the danger signal. It means trusting God rather than trusting finite men or depending on any fleshly power, and standing on the Lord's side while resisting the danger of working against Him.
How God Meets Prayer
Prayer is communion with God as the Fountain of wisdom and the Source of strength, peace, and happiness. It includes acknowledgment of His perfections, gratitude for mercies received, penitential confession of sins, and earnest entreaty for His blessing both for self and for others. Every need is to be brought to Him in every circumstance with thanksgiving, including small daily cares, work, desires, and needs, without wearying Him by persistence. He is the only sure source of trust and wisdom, so light and knowledge and understanding of duty, even in trying circumstances, are to be sought from Him by continual prayer.
Every movement to draw near to God meets His response, for He hears and answers prayer. No sincere prayer is lost, and no one who comes with a contrite heart is repulsed, for amid the anthems of the celestial choir God hears the cries of the weakest human being. Prayer poured out in private in the closet and prayer breathed silently while traveling or walking by the way both reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. Even when inaudible to any human ear, prayer cannot die into silence or be lost through business activity and pressing cares, but rises above street noise, crowded confusion, the din of the street, and the confusion of the multitude to the heavenly courts, because it is spoken to God and He hears it, so that nothing can drown the soul's desire. All who are afflicted or unjustly used may thus turn away from hard-hearted people and continually make their requests known to their Maker. Such continual seeking, especially together by those carrying responsibilities in His work, brings confidence and cheerful assurance and a free anointing for His sacred work, and the working of the Holy Spirit produces an inward change of heart matching what the soul needs.
Jesus as Advocate and High Priest pleads for the petitioner, presenting the requests to the Father. Sincere, humble prayers are made acceptable as Christ mingles them with the merits of His perfect obedience and presents them to God as incense, and Christ intercedes for His people and the Father hears Him. Therefore burdens may be brought to God continually with confidence that an answer will come. Continual prayer is to be offered in the name of Jesus, not in the name of any human being. Jesus is the believer's substitute and surety and has given His name for use in prayer, and praying in faith in His name opens access to the Father and the riches of His grace and brings the joy He promises.
Continuing in prayer fixes the soul on Jesus and changes it into His likeness, like a flower turning toward the light. Exercising faith strengthens it, and a life shaped by prayer and faith and lived out in daily life leads to steady, continual growth in heavenly graces and willing submission to the Lord. Through prayer God enlightens the mind, helps people understand truth, distinguishes truth from error, softens the heart, and steadies faith. Continual communion thus brings the joy of knowing Christ's love and care and trusting that He will not leave believers weak, meeting the neglect of prayer by approaching Him in trust as Daniel did.
Continued prayer brings Christ near to shield, help, and bless. He can turn the mind from frivolous things toward thoughts that bring peace, joy, comfort, and consolation, restrain foolish behavior, make speech more fitting, and soften the heart through the Holy Spirit with the comfort of His grace. Workers of every age are to keep praying rather than stop after a special week of prayer, putting on Christ by seeking Him in prayer, trusting that God accepts the prayer, and continuing to ask in order to receive, since the end is near and Jesus is needed at every step for safety. In trial, uncertainty, and perplexity every breath can be a prayer expressing watching, believing, and entrusting the situation to God while waiting patiently for Him to lead, rather than acting rashly to escape difficulty or taking matters out of God's hands in reliance on feelings.
Incessant, earnest, persevering prayer is heard in heaven and disciplines the soul for the honored position of co-partnership with Jesus Christ and for work and companionship with heavenly angels. Believers are to keep praying even when prayers seem to be answered, because victory in the Christian life depends on constant asking and receiving, and when God gives soul-hunger His grace must go with it. Safety lies in distrust of self, and with unwavering faith and trust in the heavenly Father the believer partakes of the divine nature, constantly receiving grace and constantly imparting that grace to others. Communing with God in prayer with trusting faith and thankfulness of heart prepares a person to go forth in the name and efficiency of Christ to any duty or trial to which he is called, whereas self-sufficiency woven into Christian experience makes character imperfect, sleazy, flimsy, and unreliable. Prayer is to continue until God gives light and one is willing to accept responsibility for the decision, joined with faith and seeking to know and follow God's will. Continual prayer is joined to keeping confidence in God undisturbed with unwavering faith, and to keeping the eyes fixed on Jesus with steady dependence on God and trust in Him when the way ahead is unclear.
Prayer Joined with Work
Praying without ceasing and working for the salvation of others belong together and must continue persistently, with prayer offered for specific people even through entire nights and without stopping when they show no concern, because time is short and Christ's coming is near. A minister is to keep praying while laboring, especially when truth seems powerless and hearers remain unmoved, earnestly and persistently seeking spiritual blessings with prevailing faith rather than accepting their absence. To remain at ease while people are lost or to give up this wrestling leaves room for Satan to triumph. When labor brings no souls to the truth, the answer is not ease but continued work joined to earnest prayer and seeking God's help.
Continual prayer runs through the whole day, with the mind's desires continually rising in silent petitions for help, light, strength, and knowledge, sustaining spiritual life and bringing wisdom and sound judgment for daily duties and peace under trying circumstances. Daily temptations make this communion necessary, and through faith God's power keeps the believer. Yet this prayer does not replace careful thought or faithful use of time, for prayer and earnest work are both required to form Christian character. Beyond public worship and private devotion in the secret chamber, unceasing prayer is joined with determined action in Christ's spirit from a sense of the peril of perishing souls, with dependence on God drawing believers closer to Him while duty calls them to earnest, powerful effort and example.
Prayer is to continue without interruption after full surrender to God, accompanying the walk by faith and daily labor, and believers are to live out their prayers by cooperating with Christ in His work. Private prayer, family prayer, and prayer in public worship all remain essential, and living the prayer out is part of what the command requires. In the time of the latter rain this continuing prayer is to be fervent, offered while actively working in keeping with prayer, trusting God and watching in the Spirit while seeking the abundant gift of the Holy Spirit. Constant prayer of this kind need not mean always kneeling, but means thoughts continually ascending in silent earnest supplication for the Spirit to attend Bible study and give direction, mistrusting human wisdom as nothing and exercising faith in God. Personal light is kept from growing dim by fleeing those who fill the mind with distrust and unbelief and by associating with those sound in faith who have deep experience in the things of God.
Staying in prayer is to be kept up while doing loving service and practical good works, including the excellent work of freeing the Colorado Sanitarium from its heavy debt so it can bless the world. Unconsecrated workers whose every act is marred by selfishness ought to live in constant watchful prayer but do not, so they fail to feel the sacredness of the work and handle sacred things as common things. Because spiritual things are spiritually discerned, they refresh no one and bless no one until they drink of the water of life with Christ in them as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. Unless they repent, their candlestick will be removed out of its place. The command calls such workers to enduring patience, invincible charity, omnipotent faith in saving souls, keeping self out of prominence, and wisdom from Christ in dealing with human minds.
Prayer in Daily Life
Pray without ceasing is practiced with heart, soul, and voice in every place and activity — in the family circle, when walking the streets, when engaged in business, when traveling, and while doing daily work. Drawing near to God in this way brings God near, and those who pray thus have a divine Companion with them who leads them in paths of safety and shields the soul from temptation. This requires educating and taxing the mind through the years of Christian profession to dwell upon Jesus continually, binding thoughts and teaching them to dwell upon pure and holy things and keeping the Lord in all thoughts, and neglect of this constant prayerful discipline leaves the mind unguarded against impurity and unholiness. Denying self, taking up the cross, and following Christ includes keeping this continual prayer always in mind together with studying the life of Christ.
Daily prayer is as essential to spiritual life and growth in grace as food is to physical well-being, bringing the heart into direct contact with God as the source of life and sustaining spiritual strength. This means often turning and lifting the thoughts to God, and when the mind wanders it must be brought back through persevering effort until prayer becomes easier by habit. Praying only now and then weakens hold on God and drains vitality from religious experience, and Christ's presence can attend believers at every step and safety depends on staying connected to Him only as the conditions He has laid down are observed. A person may begin each day with prayer while continually asking God for guidance and support from an abiding sense of dependence on divine help, with the heart keeping up an inward petition throughout the day. Such prayer is an essential aid to study and daily duties and brings peace under trial.
Unceasing prayer is practiced in the home by gathering the family around God's altar morning and evening, with the father as priest of the household laying the morning and evening sacrifice, with wife and children uniting in prayer and song of praise. In the morning the family is committed before daily labor to the care of the Father in heaven, in the evening there is united grateful prayer and praise in acknowledgment of divine care during the day, and guardianship of holy angels in the home is asked for. Living in this constant prayerful dependence is necessary to meet daily temptation and annoyance, for young and old are beset by daily annoyances and dear ones are exposed to temptations, and only by receiving constant help from God can victory over self be gained and patient, loving, cheerful lives be lived. Parents are to pray in faith for God to remain with their children and protect them from Satan, bringing requests to God in every circumstance with thanksgiving as communion with Him as the source of wisdom, strength, peace, and happiness. Youth living in cities need to pray continually for God's guidance so they can escape surrounding temptations, and they also need faithful friends and watchcare, with prayer offered for and with them so they give themselves to the Lord.
In the daily work of overcoming self and building a character God can approve, looking to Jesus and praying often bring His help because He loves those who seek Him. Silent petitions may rise to God while working at home or school, while walking, or elsewhere throughout ordinary activities, helping people overcome natural evils and evil traits and find peace, hope, and joy in Christ, so that words and example encourage others to do right. This continual prayer does not replace regular times for prayer, which should not be neglected. Continual dependence is the soul breathing out to God at all times and in all places, preserving union with Christ together with untiring effort, as part of personal duty and effort to remain faithful in a close ongoing walk with God. Such a spirit of continual prayer helps people know God's will, and prayer is needed for spiritual strength with clear discernment needed to walk constantly with God.
Prayer can be offered day and night with watchfulness, bringing requests for strength, guidance, forgiveness, physical healing, and spiritual discernment to God, and those who wait for Him have assurance of His presence. The heart is to long for God and go out to Him in daily, hourly prayer with believing trusting holding on to the promise, turning to Him at every hour. This includes pleading like Jacob for blessing and refusing to let go without it, and pleading like David for God to hold up goings in His path so footsteps do not slip into pitfalls dug by men for the feet. Continual prayerful watchfulness means turning to prayer while guarding speech, especially pausing before speaking accusations against others. Those uniting to reach the higher classes while lifting the oppressed, relieving the needy, and helping the poor to help themselves are to pray constantly with utmost earnestness and devotion to the will of the Lord, continually asking God to hold up their goings in His path so their feet do not slip, because the Lord sees their dangers and every natural and cultivated inclination of the heart rises against true humiliation of self.
Canvassers serving God by sharing Bible truth are to keep the soul constantly uplifted to God in prayer, and in faith in God and awareness of their work they are not alone but have the companionship and help of Christ. Young workers who walk with God must pray much as they seek light and prepare for service. Constant heartfelt prayer and dependence on God go with watchfulness and humble trust in the Lord for help and strength in work, since nothing can be accomplished without the Lord's help, but in His strength great things can be done.
To pray without ceasing is to keep up persevering, earnest and constant prayer, not faint, occasional or fitful praying but a continuing spirit of intercession that does not stop. It does not mean staying on the knees or speaking aloud at every moment, for silent petitions for help, light, strength and guidance can ascend to God wherever a person is and whatever is being done. Such prayer is the breath of the soul, the heart continually uplifted in steady dependence on God until every breath becomes prayer, joined with rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything. It keeps the believer watchful and close to God, giving access by faith to grace and power to resist temptation when Satan sets unexpected snares and daily dangers beset every path. No sincere prayer is lost, whether poured out in private or breathed silently amid noise and business, for God hears and answers, and Jesus as Advocate joins humble prayer with the merits of His obedience and presents it to the Father, while prayer is to be joined with determined action, faithful work and loving service in daily life.
What Continual Prayer Means
The command is to persevering, earnest, constant prayer, not faint, occasional, or fitful prayer, but a continuing spirit of intercession that does not stop. It means bringing every need to God, including small daily cares, work, desires, and needs, and persisting without wearying Him. Continuing in prayer fixes the soul on Jesus and changes it into His likeness, like a flower turning toward the light. Such prayer, joined with watchfulness, is needed to gain and hold victory over the powers of darkness, as part of the daily work of faith. Continual prayer disciplines the soul for co-partnership with Jesus Christ and for work and companionship with heavenly angels, and such prayer is heard in heaven. Even amid daily work the soul can be lifted to God to receive strength for resisting temptation and remaining faithful to truth, right, and justice.
Continual prayer does not require remaining on the knees or speaking aloud at every moment. Silent petitions for help, for light, for strength, for knowledge, and for guidance can ascend to God wherever a person is and whatever they are doing. Wherever people are they are to ask the Lord for help and strength to do His holy will, and need not wait for a chance to kneel. This prayer is offered with humility, meekness, and a lowly spirit, as part of a living union with Christ sustained by active faith. There is never a time when a person should feel able to stop praying, for it is a life of continuing prayer, not vocal prayer at every moment, and asking in faith and believing brings returns. Thoughts are to ascend continually in silent earnest supplication for the Holy Spirit to attend Bible study and give direction, mistrusting human wisdom as nothing and having faith in God.
There is no time or place where it is inappropriate to offer a petition to God, and nothing can prevent lifting the heart to Him in earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street and in the midst of a business engagement a petition for divine guidance may be sent up, as Nehemiah did when he made his request before King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever a person is by keeping the door of the heart open continually with an invitation going up for Jesus to come and abide in the soul as a heavenly guest. Prayer is to be continual, like the soul's breath, with silent requests rising to God wherever a person is. The heart is to be continually uplifted until every breath becomes a prayer expressing steady dependence on God.
Every breath can be a prayer, joined with keeping the eyes fixed on Jesus and trusting Him when the way ahead is unclear. Prayer is the soul breathing out to God at all times and in all places, and a spirit of continual prayer helps people know God's will. It continues through every moment and circumstance: in trial, uncertainty, and perplexity, every breath can be a prayer. Continual prayer means watching, believing, and entrusting the situation to God while waiting patiently for Him to lead, rather than acting rashly to escape difficulty, accompanying a life of faith, not reliance on feelings.
Constant prayer is a sacred duty God has authority to require, with obligation to obey and gracious reward for obedience, and it is also a privilege. Constant watchfulness and constant prayer are necessary for every soul to successfully resist the wiles of the great deceiver, keep a living connection with God, and honor God. The idea that prayer is not essential and that vocal prayer is not taught in the word of God is a device to ruin souls. Prayer is addressing the mind to God as the Fountain of wisdom and the Source of strength and peace and happiness, including acknowledgment of divine perfections, gratitude for mercies received, penitential confession of sins, and earnest entreaty for blessing both for self and for others. God's people, especially those carrying responsibilities in His work, are to seek Him together and pray continually for a free anointing for His sacred work, accompanying a life of faith that brings confidence and cheerful assurance because the Lord hears prayer.
The verse includes a brief cry for help sent from the heart in any circumstance, including danger, difficulty, grief, care, or temptation, when other forms of prayer are impossible. Such prayer commits a person to God's guidance and protection and brings comfort, support, and help through faithful love and power. It is a resource alongside — not a substitute for — public, family, and private worship. Silent petitions may rise to God while working at home or school or elsewhere, or while walking, and this continual prayer does not replace regular times for prayer, which should not be neglected. Such a life of prayer helps people overcome natural evils and evil traits and find peace, hope, and joy in Christ, and their words and example can encourage others to do right.
Rejoicing Thanks and Praise
Praying without ceasing belongs together with rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything as the continuing life of the believer. This threefold life of prayer, rejoicing, and thanksgiving in every circumstance is a life of faith, victory, and joy in God. It is God's will in Christ Jesus. As a continual part of Christian life it belongs to the growth of Christian character and expresses the peace and spiritual graces formed in the heart.
Prayer is not only asking for things but is to be joined with thanksgiving and praise for God's goodness and mercies. Giving thanks does not mean praying too much; gratitude strengthens prayer and deepens love for God while needs are still brought to Him. Earnest and continual prayer must not crowd out praise, and praise must not be neglected. God's children are to honor His character, show the sustaining power of His grace, and give thanks for His compassion and the salvation made known through redemption. The theme of redemption deserves careful thought and study, and praise for His wonderful works should come from the heart, soul, and voice.
The call to thanksgiving means showing politeness to God for His blessings by thanksgiving and praise that glorifies Him. This includes knowing those who labor among believers, keeping peace, and letting a visible light shine before others. The praise is to be audible and revived as old-fashioned religion, with voices in meeting saying Praise God, Glory be to God, Thank the Lord, and Praise the Lord when blessing comes or hearts are touched by preaching, and offering such praise glorifies God and is not fanaticism.
Unceasing prayer is cheerful, thankful communion that clothes the life with joy and gladness instead of heaviness and mourning. Those who receive Christ as a sin-pardoning Saviour have sin taken away and His righteousness and light imparted, so their joy is full. With the expectation of being children of the heavenly King and members of the royal family, and with the gospel as good tidings of great joy and the promises of God freely accepted bringing heaven's brightness into the life, Christians have the best right to sing songs of rejoicing. While staying sober and watchful and never becoming light or frivolous, they are always to be cheerful and to express the Christian hope in joyous songs of praise and thanksgiving, in which heavenly angels join and cannot be silent. Continuing prayer is to be offered with faith and humble walking with God so that God may be glorified.
Watchfulness Against Temptation and Evil
Continual prayer keeps believers watchful so that worldly cares and pursuits do not crowd godliness out of the soul, and without it they risk growing careless and gradually backsliding while still believing themselves in good spiritual condition. Watchfulness and persevering, almost unceasing prayer are required to exhibit a sanctified life, and overcoming requires unceasing prayer for heavenly aid joined with constant watchfulness, with help sent to the earnest and persevering desire to overcome. It is a continual, lifelong effort to resist the enemy and overcome, remaining watchful and persistent, never careless or off guard, while relying on God's grace. Because Satan sets snares and may attack when and where least expected, believers must watch and pray continually at every moment, lest being unwatched they be overcome and suffer loss.
Such prayer gives access by faith to God's grace and power needed to resist temptation and the enemy's efforts to draw people into sin. Earnest prayer joined with living faith and confident dependence on God brings the help needed to overcome the forces of evil and gain victory, and it has power because God alone can give that help. Christians should pray earnestly and frequently in private and persist in interceding with God, asking Him to keep them from the evil in the world, for when they fail to pray they are left strengthless against Satan's temptations. Holding still, watching and praying continually while dying to self resists the devil through Jesus Christ, repulses the enemy, breaks deception, refuses any link with Satan, lays hold of God's strength to make peace with Him, and enables learning obedience through suffering for service in saving souls. The Christian life is one of continual, earnest prayer of faith expressing daily dependence on God, who must supply fresh light and strength for each day's trials and changing temptations, since yesterday's blessings cannot sustain tomorrow's conflicts, and through Christ God accepts prayers offered in Jesus' name to bring the light and strength needed to resist Satan.
Keeping the Lord always before the mind leaves communion with God unbroken and defense against evil intact, since good purposes and good intentions alone cannot withstand evil in places of temptation. When that communion is broken defense is departed, and short decisive steps lead down from holy ground, where one failure to overcome leaves the soul unguarded and one unresisted habit strengthens into steel chains. Prayer therefore must be earnest, persevering and constant rather than faint, occasional and fitful, and prayer joined with faith accomplishes what no earthly power can accomplish. It does not always require bowing on the knees, but cultivating the habit of talking with the Saviour when alone, when walking, and when busy with daily labor, with the heart continually uplifted in silent petition for help, for light, for strength, for knowledge, until every breath becomes prayer. This is especially needed for those in constant contact with evil to rescue others, who need a strong hold upon God lest they be corrupted, since daily temptation and danger beset every path and past experience cannot guide new scenes and trials without continual light from God. Christ is ever sending messages to those who listen for His voice, but drowsiness and stupor cause loss of divine instruction, power and strengthening for terrible scenes ahead, as with the sleeping disciples on the night of agony in Gethsemane.
Every movement to draw near to God meets His response as He hears and answers, and the working of the Holy Spirit produces an inward change of heart matching what the soul needs. The time of temptation when people are led from right to wrong comes when they trust their own smartness and ability, while circumstances and impressions press to mold their decisions, and continual prayer keeps the heart close to God against the resulting self-gratulation and pride, self rising to resist what is said or thought, combativeness, discontent, peevishness, evil surmisings, uncharitable thoughts, and censure. This continual communion is how Enoch walked with God, and workers need not remain on their knees but can keep lifting their hearts to God, which guards against self-reliance and working in one's own strength instead of in Christ's. Keeping the heart constantly drawn out after God in unceasing prayer joined with constant watchfulness and humble trust is necessary for doing God's work, since nothing can be accomplished without the Lord's help, but those who make Him their only trust and labor in humility of mind will have His presence with them, and in His strength they can do great things, receiving His help, strengthening, and blessing. Constant prayer joined with spiritual wakefulness is required because the great enemy never slumbers nor sleeps but works to deceive and subvert souls, and staying awake in prayer keeps believers from falling into a routine sleep that lets Satan sow tares and bring in false propositions and resolutions through unconsecrated men when watchmen are not vigilant to sound the danger signal. It means trusting God rather than trusting finite men or depending on any fleshly power, and standing on the Lord's side while resisting the danger of working against Him.
How God Meets Prayer
Prayer is communion with God as the Fountain of wisdom and the Source of strength, peace, and happiness. It includes acknowledgment of His perfections, gratitude for mercies received, penitential confession of sins, and earnest entreaty for His blessing both for self and for others. Every need is to be brought to Him in every circumstance with thanksgiving, including small daily cares, work, desires, and needs, without wearying Him by persistence. He is the only sure source of trust and wisdom, so light and knowledge and understanding of duty, even in trying circumstances, are to be sought from Him by continual prayer.
Every movement to draw near to God meets His response, for He hears and answers prayer. No sincere prayer is lost, and no one who comes with a contrite heart is repulsed, for amid the anthems of the celestial choir God hears the cries of the weakest human being. Prayer poured out in private in the closet and prayer breathed silently while traveling or walking by the way both reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. Even when inaudible to any human ear, prayer cannot die into silence or be lost through business activity and pressing cares, but rises above street noise, crowded confusion, the din of the street, and the confusion of the multitude to the heavenly courts, because it is spoken to God and He hears it, so that nothing can drown the soul's desire. All who are afflicted or unjustly used may thus turn away from hard-hearted people and continually make their requests known to their Maker. Such continual seeking, especially together by those carrying responsibilities in His work, brings confidence and cheerful assurance and a free anointing for His sacred work, and the working of the Holy Spirit produces an inward change of heart matching what the soul needs.
Jesus as Advocate and High Priest pleads for the petitioner, presenting the requests to the Father. Sincere, humble prayers are made acceptable as Christ mingles them with the merits of His perfect obedience and presents them to God as incense, and Christ intercedes for His people and the Father hears Him. Therefore burdens may be brought to God continually with confidence that an answer will come. Continual prayer is to be offered in the name of Jesus, not in the name of any human being. Jesus is the believer's substitute and surety and has given His name for use in prayer, and praying in faith in His name opens access to the Father and the riches of His grace and brings the joy He promises.
Continuing in prayer fixes the soul on Jesus and changes it into His likeness, like a flower turning toward the light. Exercising faith strengthens it, and a life shaped by prayer and faith and lived out in daily life leads to steady, continual growth in heavenly graces and willing submission to the Lord. Through prayer God enlightens the mind, helps people understand truth, distinguishes truth from error, softens the heart, and steadies faith. Continual communion thus brings the joy of knowing Christ's love and care and trusting that He will not leave believers weak, meeting the neglect of prayer by approaching Him in trust as Daniel did.
Continued prayer brings Christ near to shield, help, and bless. He can turn the mind from frivolous things toward thoughts that bring peace, joy, comfort, and consolation, restrain foolish behavior, make speech more fitting, and soften the heart through the Holy Spirit with the comfort of His grace. Workers of every age are to keep praying rather than stop after a special week of prayer, putting on Christ by seeking Him in prayer, trusting that God accepts the prayer, and continuing to ask in order to receive, since the end is near and Jesus is needed at every step for safety. In trial, uncertainty, and perplexity every breath can be a prayer expressing watching, believing, and entrusting the situation to God while waiting patiently for Him to lead, rather than acting rashly to escape difficulty or taking matters out of God's hands in reliance on feelings.
Incessant, earnest, persevering prayer is heard in heaven and disciplines the soul for the honored position of co-partnership with Jesus Christ and for work and companionship with heavenly angels. Believers are to keep praying even when prayers seem to be answered, because victory in the Christian life depends on constant asking and receiving, and when God gives soul-hunger His grace must go with it. Safety lies in distrust of self, and with unwavering faith and trust in the heavenly Father the believer partakes of the divine nature, constantly receiving grace and constantly imparting that grace to others. Communing with God in prayer with trusting faith and thankfulness of heart prepares a person to go forth in the name and efficiency of Christ to any duty or trial to which he is called, whereas self-sufficiency woven into Christian experience makes character imperfect, sleazy, flimsy, and unreliable. Prayer is to continue until God gives light and one is willing to accept responsibility for the decision, joined with faith and seeking to know and follow God's will. Continual prayer is joined to keeping confidence in God undisturbed with unwavering faith, and to keeping the eyes fixed on Jesus with steady dependence on God and trust in Him when the way ahead is unclear.
Prayer Joined with Work
Praying without ceasing and working for the salvation of others belong together and must continue persistently, with prayer offered for specific people even through entire nights and without stopping when they show no concern, because time is short and Christ's coming is near. A minister is to keep praying while laboring, especially when truth seems powerless and hearers remain unmoved, earnestly and persistently seeking spiritual blessings with prevailing faith rather than accepting their absence. To remain at ease while people are lost or to give up this wrestling leaves room for Satan to triumph. When labor brings no souls to the truth, the answer is not ease but continued work joined to earnest prayer and seeking God's help.
Continual prayer runs through the whole day, with the mind's desires continually rising in silent petitions for help, light, strength, and knowledge, sustaining spiritual life and bringing wisdom and sound judgment for daily duties and peace under trying circumstances. Daily temptations make this communion necessary, and through faith God's power keeps the believer. Yet this prayer does not replace careful thought or faithful use of time, for prayer and earnest work are both required to form Christian character. Beyond public worship and private devotion in the secret chamber, unceasing prayer is joined with determined action in Christ's spirit from a sense of the peril of perishing souls, with dependence on God drawing believers closer to Him while duty calls them to earnest, powerful effort and example.
Prayer is to continue without interruption after full surrender to God, accompanying the walk by faith and daily labor, and believers are to live out their prayers by cooperating with Christ in His work. Private prayer, family prayer, and prayer in public worship all remain essential, and living the prayer out is part of what the command requires. In the time of the latter rain this continuing prayer is to be fervent, offered while actively working in keeping with prayer, trusting God and watching in the Spirit while seeking the abundant gift of the Holy Spirit. Constant prayer of this kind need not mean always kneeling, but means thoughts continually ascending in silent earnest supplication for the Spirit to attend Bible study and give direction, mistrusting human wisdom as nothing and exercising faith in God. Personal light is kept from growing dim by fleeing those who fill the mind with distrust and unbelief and by associating with those sound in faith who have deep experience in the things of God.
Staying in prayer is to be kept up while doing loving service and practical good works, including the excellent work of freeing the Colorado Sanitarium from its heavy debt so it can bless the world. Unconsecrated workers whose every act is marred by selfishness ought to live in constant watchful prayer but do not, so they fail to feel the sacredness of the work and handle sacred things as common things. Because spiritual things are spiritually discerned, they refresh no one and bless no one until they drink of the water of life with Christ in them as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. Unless they repent, their candlestick will be removed out of its place. The command calls such workers to enduring patience, invincible charity, omnipotent faith in saving souls, keeping self out of prominence, and wisdom from Christ in dealing with human minds.
Prayer in Daily Life
Pray without ceasing is practiced with heart, soul, and voice in every place and activity — in the family circle, when walking the streets, when engaged in business, when traveling, and while doing daily work. Drawing near to God in this way brings God near, and those who pray thus have a divine Companion with them who leads them in paths of safety and shields the soul from temptation. This requires educating and taxing the mind through the years of Christian profession to dwell upon Jesus continually, binding thoughts and teaching them to dwell upon pure and holy things and keeping the Lord in all thoughts, and neglect of this constant prayerful discipline leaves the mind unguarded against impurity and unholiness. Denying self, taking up the cross, and following Christ includes keeping this continual prayer always in mind together with studying the life of Christ.
Daily prayer is as essential to spiritual life and growth in grace as food is to physical well-being, bringing the heart into direct contact with God as the source of life and sustaining spiritual strength. This means often turning and lifting the thoughts to God, and when the mind wanders it must be brought back through persevering effort until prayer becomes easier by habit. Praying only now and then weakens hold on God and drains vitality from religious experience, and Christ's presence can attend believers at every step and safety depends on staying connected to Him only as the conditions He has laid down are observed. A person may begin each day with prayer while continually asking God for guidance and support from an abiding sense of dependence on divine help, with the heart keeping up an inward petition throughout the day. Such prayer is an essential aid to study and daily duties and brings peace under trial.
Unceasing prayer is practiced in the home by gathering the family around God's altar morning and evening, with the father as priest of the household laying the morning and evening sacrifice, with wife and children uniting in prayer and song of praise. In the morning the family is committed before daily labor to the care of the Father in heaven, in the evening there is united grateful prayer and praise in acknowledgment of divine care during the day, and guardianship of holy angels in the home is asked for. Living in this constant prayerful dependence is necessary to meet daily temptation and annoyance, for young and old are beset by daily annoyances and dear ones are exposed to temptations, and only by receiving constant help from God can victory over self be gained and patient, loving, cheerful lives be lived. Parents are to pray in faith for God to remain with their children and protect them from Satan, bringing requests to God in every circumstance with thanksgiving as communion with Him as the source of wisdom, strength, peace, and happiness. Youth living in cities need to pray continually for God's guidance so they can escape surrounding temptations, and they also need faithful friends and watchcare, with prayer offered for and with them so they give themselves to the Lord.
In the daily work of overcoming self and building a character God can approve, looking to Jesus and praying often bring His help because He loves those who seek Him. Silent petitions may rise to God while working at home or school, while walking, or elsewhere throughout ordinary activities, helping people overcome natural evils and evil traits and find peace, hope, and joy in Christ, so that words and example encourage others to do right. This continual prayer does not replace regular times for prayer, which should not be neglected. Continual dependence is the soul breathing out to God at all times and in all places, preserving union with Christ together with untiring effort, as part of personal duty and effort to remain faithful in a close ongoing walk with God. Such a spirit of continual prayer helps people know God's will, and prayer is needed for spiritual strength with clear discernment needed to walk constantly with God.
Prayer can be offered day and night with watchfulness, bringing requests for strength, guidance, forgiveness, physical healing, and spiritual discernment to God, and those who wait for Him have assurance of His presence. The heart is to long for God and go out to Him in daily, hourly prayer with believing trusting holding on to the promise, turning to Him at every hour. This includes pleading like Jacob for blessing and refusing to let go without it, and pleading like David for God to hold up goings in His path so footsteps do not slip into pitfalls dug by men for the feet. Continual prayerful watchfulness means turning to prayer while guarding speech, especially pausing before speaking accusations against others. Those uniting to reach the higher classes while lifting the oppressed, relieving the needy, and helping the poor to help themselves are to pray constantly with utmost earnestness and devotion to the will of the Lord, continually asking God to hold up their goings in His path so their feet do not slip, because the Lord sees their dangers and every natural and cultivated inclination of the heart rises against true humiliation of self.
Canvassers serving God by sharing Bible truth are to keep the soul constantly uplifted to God in prayer, and in faith in God and awareness of their work they are not alone but have the companionship and help of Christ. Young workers who walk with God must pray much as they seek light and prepare for service. Constant heartfelt prayer and dependence on God go with watchfulness and humble trust in the Lord for help and strength in work, since nothing can be accomplished without the Lord's help, but in His strength great things can be done.