Pray Without Ceasing!

Pray: To communicate with God. To ask earnestly for something.
Ceasing: To bring to an end. To Stop.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 reminds us to "Pray without ceasing," which means that we are to pray continuously. My friends, we are living in perilous times, where some people love only themselves and their money; a time were some people are proud, boastful, ungrateful, hard-headed, disobedient, and prefer "good times" and the "high life" to worshiping God. These people are all around us, interacting with us; our families; our children. Can you see the importance of praying without ceasing? If all of this wasn't reason enough, simply listen to the news or read the newspaper. Unfortunately, most of what you will see, hear, or read is bad news.

Now let me share with you the good news! Prayer is a major factor when we are walking with God. Jeremiah 23:23 says, "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord and not a God afar off?" The Lord is letting us know that He's not afar off, He's omnipresent (everywhere at the same time). So if we are praying without ceasing that means our prayers are everywhere with Him, right? We can't be everywhere, but our prayers can (how awesome is that?!). We should never stop praying for our children or grandchildren, especially if we know they are going down the wrong path. We just learned that while we can't necessarily be there in the valley with them holding their hand - our prayers can... and God is there too. You know, even if your kids are on the right path, they still need someone to pray for and with them. I don't know about you, but I know for sure that this is why I am where I am today, because someone loved me enough to pray for me without ceasing.

Every significant choice we have to make should be presented before the Lord. If we are not praying and seeking the Lord, then in essence it's like we're saying, "I'm sufficient all by myself, and I can make my own choices," when the truth of the matter is, we DESPERATELY need the Lord, so let's start or continue to pray without ceasing. When we are communicating with the Lord, we are acknowledging Him as the head of our lives.

Remember, our God is faithful, He has promised to answer when we pray, so if you're ever feeling down and depressed just know that Jesus still hears you and will answer prayer. James 5:16 tells us that "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (KJV) or "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (ESV). Prayer changes things, so let's be mindful to pray without ceasing!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!