The word of God tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). It is impossible for an individual to pray 24/7. How are we to become doers of the Word, as the half-brother of Jesus says in James 1:22? If we are not doers of the Word, we are deceiving ourselves.
Let's explore for a moment, the kinds of deception that might come upon us when we don't pray without ceasing.
I prayed for a certain situation and God did not answer my prayers. The conclusions I reached are (choose the one(s) that apply):
God doesn't hear my prayers. Why bother to pray?
God doesn't care or He would have answered my prayer. God cannot be trusted.
I must have missed it and asked for the wrong thing. God is difficult to please. Why pray if you don't have it right?
Each of the above conclusions 'guides' the one whose prayer was not answered to make an assumption (judgement) about God and His nature. Each of the conclusions is false or a lie provided by the Liar. "If you believe a lie, you empower the Liar." Each of the lies above will result in what? Discouragement, weakened trust in God, despair and even loss of hope. This list is not found in the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), so we must renounce these lies and ask the Holy Spirit for the Truth.
I don't know how to pray without ceasing, so I just pray when I feel the need.
This deception results in prayerlessness or "panic praying" the kind of praying we do when things go haywire or our cirumstances are out of control and we feel God is not with us or not listening to us. Again, this is a deception the enemy uses to weaken us and even get us to yield to a 'victim spirit'.
When we read 1 Thessalonians 5:17 in context, we find clues to understanding this text. Go to your favorite Bible translation and read all of 1 Thessalonians, as we are instructed to do (1 Thess 5:27). Then continue reading here.
Chapter 5 begins with: "Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates (kairos moments or appointed times) we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
As I read the whole chapter, I come to this conclusion. We are living in the 'last days' and the return of Jesus (the day of the Lord) is a certainty. Every generation of believers in Christ has believed Jesus will return in their lifetime. It has been many generations since the cross. Many have died in faith believing Jesus would return in their lifetime. Why is this generation different? I simply cannot list all the reasons why we are nearer to the return of Christ than ever before. I am convinced we are in a Kairos Moment of time. A specially appointed moment in time when believers in Jesus must step up daily, denying themselves, taking up their cross and following Him.
This is the only way I know how to "pray without ceasing." Daily, check in with the Holy Spirit and find out how to pray, what to pray for, who to pray for and when to pray. If you don't know how to hear the Holy Spirit's voice, consider getting a sozo session. You can Book My Sozo on the front page of this site.
Blessings, Pastor Bill
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