Day 1 of 30—Pray Without Ceasing: Making Prayer Your First Reflex

Welcome to the thirty-day prayer challenge, where we’re praying together and believing the Lord to come in powerful ways and intersect our lives.

Throughout this challenge, I’m going to send out a three-to-five-minute video—nothing too long—just to remind you of a scripture and provide a short question to help you reflect on how that could be applied in your life.

I want to encourage you to take heart. We can all pray for ten minutes a day and seek the face of the Lord, and what a change it will make in our lives if we actually do that and spend that time praying.

So, I want to jump right into the verse for this morning: 1 Thessalonians 5:17. The Bible says in the New King James Version, “Pray without ceasing.”

What does that mean? It means to pray without stopping. To not cease means to not stop. So how do I do that? Obviously, I can’t spend every minute of my day in prayer. Even as a pastor, I can’t do that. I have to take care of my family and handle things for the church, which is my job. You’ve got to manage your own job responsibilities too.

It may seem impossible to pray without ceasing, but I think what Paul is talking about is maintaining an attitude of prayer and a heart posture of prayer, so that throughout my day, my heart is inclined to recognize that the Lord is there, to remember that Jesus is with me, and to know that I’m not alone. I also need to be aware that He sees everything I do and hears everything I say.

To pray without ceasing means not to confine God to a box, as I often try to do by segmenting my life. There’s the work box, the family box, the fun box, and then there’s my God box, where I finally do my spiritual things. That’s not how it should be. God should be everything. Every part of my life exists within God’s framework.

So, to keep an attitude of prayer and to pray without ceasing means that everything I do throughout my day is influenced by the Lord, by my relationship with Jesus, and by the time I’ve spent with Him in prayer and in His Word.

Let me finish with a challenge question for today: What would change if prayer became your first reflex instead of your last resort?

What would change in your life if prayer was the first thing you turned to instead of the last option? I want to encourage you today, as you encounter difficulties, issues, or even moments of joy, let prayer be the first place you go, and let your relationship with Jesus be what you build on the most.

If you haven’t had your ten minutes of prayer yet, I encourage you, when this video finishes, take about ten minutes, set your timer, and spend that time with the Lord. See if it doesn’t have a powerful impact on your life today. For the next twenty-nine days, we’re going to spend this time together seeking the face of God. God’s blessings on you, friend.