The Secret of Praying without Ceasing

The Lord has opened my eyes this morning to realize the secret of praying without ceasing. May the Spirit of God open your eyes too as you read the following words. 

Every true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ has a passion in his or her heart to live a life of prayer. They sincerely desire to obey these Scriptures:

• “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
• “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18).

Although we know in our heart about the significance of praying without ceasing, many of us struggle to put into practice in daily life. Some of us even think, “Is it really a practical thing to pray without ceasing? Does God’s word has relevant exhortations?”

Of course, to pray without ceasing doesn’t mean we have to shut ourselves in a room and be in prayer 24 hours. It doesn’t even mean we should not miss a second to pray wherever we are and whatever we do.

What it does mean is that we should pray constantly and regularly.

Prayer should be a predominant activity of our daily life. We may not pray every second, but we can pray in every occasion during the day. We may not pray every time we breathe, but we can pray frequently during the day. We may not pray without interruption at all but we can pray intermittently during the day.

However, we know, even to pray in this way is a great challenge. How can we pray so much? What is there to pray about at all times? How can we be constant in prayer? How is it possible for prayer to reign our daily life?

Here is the secret.

Secret of Praying without Ceasing

It is written, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18a). To put in other words, Paul is saying, "Pray continually in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests."

And then we stop here.

That’s the problem.

Here is where we fail.

Now, let us go ahead and complete the verse: “To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18b). In other words, “Keeping this mind, i.e. praying in the Spirit on all occasions…, always keep praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Have you observed the secret? Knowing that we have to pray in the Spirit on all occasions, we are told to pray for all the saints of God, for His church, for His people.

[Agreed, this doesn't mean we have to pray for every person in the universal church. That's impossible. But we can pray regularly for the members of our local church, also for other believers whom God has brought into our lives, for revival in the local churches, even for those whom we don't know and are facing persecution because of their faith in Christ.]

It is not personal petitions which makes a man or a woman of prayer; it is intercession for God’s people. To be prayer-centered we need to be people-focused. We can only pray without ceasing when our focus is on the people of God and continually uphold them before the Throne of Grace.

If we pray for ourself, we pray little, for we cannot keep on praying for ourself. But when we pray for God’s people, since there are many people of God with many struggles and needs, we will be driven to pray more and more and more.

To be a person of prayer, we have to be a man and a woman of people. When we grow in our passion for God’s church, when we are concerned for the welfare of the people of God, when our heart is burdened to see the move of God in the lives of His people, we cannot but pray, pray and pray.

Paul—A Man of Prayer

Have you observed the prayers of Paul? I urge you to do so now carefully.

• “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers” (Rom. 1:9-10).
• “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:16).
• “…always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (Phi. 1:4).
• “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you” (Col. 1:9).
• “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers” (1 Thess. 1:2).

Did you notice something profound in these Scriptures?

Paul prayed without ceasing. He prayed constantly. He prayed on all occasions. But how could he do this? Not by praying more for himself. The focus is not ‘self’. In every verse it is plain—he was praying for God’s people.

Paul could pray more because he prayed more for God’s people. None can exceed in prayer by praying more for himself; only a person who prays more for others will thrive in prayer. A self-focused person can never become a man or a woman of prayer.

Final Words

The cause for prayerlessness is selfishness. The motivation for prayerfulness is others-centeredness. The secret of prayer without ceasing is to cease focusing on ‘self’ in prayer and commence focusing on the people of God.

Both the Scripture and church history testifies that all men and women who were known for their life of prayer were those who poured their hearts in praying for God's people and for His purposes in the world.

O, let me tell you—when we grow in our prayers for the children of God, the Holy Spirit would be greatly delighted to lead us to pray without ceasing, for He rejoices in those who care for the church of God for which Christ bought by His blood.

If we ask God to burden our hearts to pray for His people, He would guide us tremendously to pray according to His will. It is in learning to pray for others that we would learn to pray in the Spirit.

Remember, God has no interest in drawing people closer to Himself who only think and cling to themselves. Those who stay close to His heart are those whose heart is for God and for His people.

When we think about the needs of our church people, the lost souls around us, the needs in missions, the persecution of believers in gospel restricted places—we realize there is so much for us to pray. When we pray for God’s people, we realize we can never pray enough.

Let me end with these words—always praising God and thanking Him in everything and always praying more for others in the Spirit will help us to pray without ceasing.

May the Living God help us!

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