Pray without ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
We think rightly or wrongly about prayer according to the
conception we have in our minds of prayer. If we think of prayer as the breath
in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly. The blood flows
ceaselessly, and breathing continues ceaselessly; we are not conscious of it,
but it is always going on. We are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in
perfect joint with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not
an exercise, it is the life. Beware of anything that stops [spontaneous]
prayer. “Pray without ceasing,” keep the childlike habit of [spontaneous]
prayer in your heart to God all the time.
Jesus never mentioned unanswered #prayer; He had the
boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. Have we by the Spirit the
unspeakable certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times
when God does not seem to have answered prayer? “Every one that asketh
receiveth.” We say “But…, but . . .” God answers prayer in the best way, not
sometimes, but every time, although the immediate manifestation of the answer
in the domain in which we want it may not always follow. Do we expect God to
answer prayer?
The danger with us is that we want to water down the things
that Jesus says and make them mean something in accordance with common sense;
if it were only common sense; it was not worthwhile for Him to say it. The
things Jesus says about prayer are supernatural revelations.
