Key Passages:

Genesis 28:10-17

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Revelation 5:8

Paul’s exhortation for us to pray without ceasing definitely raises some questions. How does one pray unceasingly while living life – working, playing, eating/drinking, or even sleeping? Should we take him literally, or is he speaking metaphorically? I think the answer depends on how we view prayer.

If it merely means approaching God with a litany of requests sprinkled with praise and thanksgiving, we’d likely struggle to do this consistently and endlessly.

But if we approach prayer as dialogue rather than an isolated act, our experience may be different. By dialogue, I mean opening ourselves up to commune with God in an interactive process. Picture Jacob’s vision of a stairway to heaven upon which angels ascended and descended. On one end lay the slumbering patriarch; at the other stood the Lord Almighty.

Prayer is the ladder of incense that connects heaven to earth.

To pray without ceasing, we must perpetually be connected to our Father. At times, this connection is revealed via verbal expression. At other times, it is an unseen spiritual connection that burns brightly even when we sleep. If we open ourselves to receive from Him, God can communicate to us through visions and dreams that guide our waking hours. And the more we receive of God, the more our minds become renewed, transforming us into His very image – less of us and more of Him.

Next, we will study the role and effect of prayer in the lives of some saints who are in our great cloud of witnesses.

Be blessed!

Remi