Pray Without Ceasing

PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING

I Thessalonians 5:17

The Apostle Paul, that learned disciple of Jesus Christ, tells us in this Scripture how to keep pace with God. Light is given for us to walk in, and when we fail to do so, darkness crowds our hearts. The light given here on the all-important subject of prayer, is very beneficial.

A train must have power to pull it down the track. Steam' is the power, but this power comes from water and fire. A Christian's vital force comes through the prevailing spirit of prayer; not a spell of praying today, and then a gap of ten days, but a continuance in prayer. We must be in the Spirit and have the spirit of prayer moment by moment. God never lavishes His power upon an unfaithful or an unwise servant.

This does not mean that we are to be upon our knees all the time; neither does it mean audible praying all the time; but a spirit of prayer, a spirit of devotion. A man may not be making manifestations of his love for his wife all the time, but he loves her nevertheless.
A man may be immersed in business, his shoulders bearing up great burdens; or a woman -may have her hands full in the nursery or elsewhere, but still a constant spirit of prayer may be going up from their hearts, like incense from the altar. Niagara flows day and night, winter and summer; so is the spirit of prayer from the heart of every true Christian.

Many rich blessings crowd into the heart during the busy hours of the day, because of this blessed spirit of prayer. Faces have lit up, eyes have brimmed full, lips been quivering, because of this blessed, constant, holy communion, and that, too, while the man or woman was engaged in daily toil.
This constant prayerfulness is why some people old in years never grow old in reality, and never lose their usefulness. A praying man always bears fruit, and the more he prays, the more earnestly he prays, the more fruit he will bear. Neglect of prayer means a loss of usefulness. Failure to pray grieves the Spirit, and a Christian can do nothing for God and lost humanity without the Spirit, for it is He who makes groanings through us that can not be made by lips of clay.

A sainted old woman, who had read and reread the Bible through more than a score of times, was laughing one day, with the open Bible lying on her lap, when a neighbor walked in. The neighbor said, "Grandmother, why are you so happy?" "Oh," said Grandmother, "I was just having my usual chat with my Father. I find such a joy, such a deep, abiding, constant, sweet peace in reading the Word, and in prayer, that I never get lonesome, and haven't been discouraged since the Holy Ghost came into my life in His fullness. My son and his wife go to the office early each morning, but I always have company, the best of company. I have good times all the time; haven't had a 'blue Monday' in twenty-five years. My God has never failed me. He has been so patient, so forbearing, so longsuffering with me, a poor frail woman. His thoughts toward me are good . He smiles upon me all the time. My room is filled with His sunshine, and my heart is crowded full of His perfect love. I am simply having a heaven on earth to go to Heaven in. I committed my way to God twenty-five years ago and I have not worried one moment since, not once. He is able to take care of me; He has promised to do it; and He is faithful.

"I only have this rich experience, this strong faith, this bright hope, because of the constant spirit of prayer, for I pray all the time, that is, I am in the spirit of prayer."

A person's love for God increases as the spirit of prayer grows.

Nehemiah went forth in great strength, and succeeded in what seemed to many an impossibility -- in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The workmen did faithful work, and everything went smoothly on, even though the devil tried hard to discourage, and to block Nehemiah's pathway. Why? Because Nehemiah was a man who had prayed and fasted much, and had the mind of God before he went forth.

The reason why so many of us fail is because we hurry into battle without the slightest preparation, and so lead our gifts and talents and usefulness to the slaughter-pen. Had the disciples rushed into the world's harvest-field from Beth-any, they would have made an awful failure. They needed and must have a ten-days prayer-meeting. Waiting develops one's patience, gives time for reflection, and an opportunity for confession and repentance; so these men must tarry.

Theirs was plenty of work to do; men were dying, jails were crowded, but Jesus said, "Wait." He knew that that ten-days prayer-meeting would put into their lives such a force, such a power, such liberty and freedom, that they would go forth destroying the works of the devil, and having constant, real victory all the time.

This waiting brought the purging into their lives, hence they were qualified to bring forth thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold. That is why Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, preached a sermon that put three thousand souls on God's side. He could never have done this before that ten-days prayer-meeting; it could only follow the prayer-meeting.

Christ and His three disciples were on the Mount of Transfiguration, then, after that, He came down and cast a devil out of a boy. Christ prayed upon another mountain until the gray streaks of dawn could be seen in the east, then He came down, quieted a mad sea, a raging storm, saved his disciples from the horrors of a mad typhoon, and rescued Peter from a watery grave.
Peter prayed and saw a great vision, then went down to the house of Cornelius and preached with such freedom, such boldness, such sweetness of spirit, that a great revival broke out, and the entire household of Brother Cornelius was saved.

Paul and Silas held a midnight prayer-meeting in the Philippian jail; then the power of God fell so mightily, that there was such a concussion, such an earthquake, that the old jailer awoke and grabbed his sword, saying, "They have all fled, and I'll be accused of letting them escape, so I'll kill myself." But Paul shouted, "Do thyself no harm, for there isn't a 'Come-outer' among us; we are all here." The jailer and his household were all converted, so that prayer-meeting of Paul and Silas stirred things and woke them up.

God honors prayer that comes from the heart; let it be in a hovel, hut, jail or temple, He will answer true prayer.

Paul knew full well how to discuss, how to preach, how to write about praying, for he himself was a man of much prayer. Once, when seemingly all were going to destruction, to a watery grave, he prayed and the Spirit whispered, "Not one shall be lost." So he stood up and told them that, although they had gone contrary to light given, although they had misjudged him, yet not one of them should be lost. Paul got this message through earnest prayer.

Many today walk in golden sunlight, bathe their souls in crystal waters, live in God's flower gardens, walk hand in hand, as Enoch of old, with God, because they live in the spirit of prayer. We can split the clouds, thaw the ice, melt the snow, defeat the devil, span the chasm, climb the mountain, if we are in the spirit of prayer. We can crowd altars with weeping penitents, bring multitudes to God, break up dens of vice, destroy "King Alcohol," if we have the spirit of prayer.

God uses all who have this vital, this real, this earnest, this constant spirit of prayer. Let us quit trifling, and pray clear through.