“There Is Always A Reason To Pray”

I gave my life to Christ in 1978, and since that time, I have learned many things about prayer. Over the years, if there is anything that I have learned about prayer it is that God expects us to pray. 

In his book Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life, Donald S. Whitney said, "God expects every Christian to be devoted to prayer and to pray without ceasing." The Lord Jesus communicated God's expectation for prayer in Matthew 6. In Matthew 6:5, He said, "And when you pray . . ." In Matthew 6:6, He said, "But you, when you are praying . . ." In Matthew 6:7, He said, "And when you are praying . . ." Jesus made it clear that God expects us to pray.    

Even though the Lord expects us to pray, everyone does not feel that prayer is essential. As I worked out with a friend (who is a Christian) in a local gym, he shared that his son no longer believes in prayer, and he does not see a need to pray. I asked him why? He responded, "My son said, 'Prayer is a waste of time, and nothing happens when we pray." There are many people who hold to these same sentiments and many of those who feel this way call themselves Christians (even though they may never say it). The evidence that they feel this way is that they fail to pray.      

Not only are there people who feel as though prayer is a waste of time, but there are some people who think prayer is old fashioned-and outdated. I remember reading a story about a farmer who was entertaining one of his sophisticated relatives from the city. Before everyone started eating, the farmer gave thanks for the food. When he finished, the sophisticated relative laughed and said, "This is old-fashioned; nobody with an education prays at the table anymore."

The farmer admitted that the practice was old, and he confessed that there were some on his farm who did not pray before their meals. The sophisticated relative felt justified and he said, "So enlightenment is finally reaching the farm. Who are these wise individuals who don’t pray before eating their meal?" The farmer replied, "My pigs."

Even though prayer has been around for a long time, we should never view prayer as something that is a waste of time or old-fashioned and outdated. We need to know and understand that prayer is timeless and always needed. Therefore, there should never be a day when we do not see prayer as a priority. There will always be people who think that prayer is unnecessary. However, we need to be mindful that prayer should be an essential aspect of every believer's life.     

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul pointed out the necessity of prayer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul offered three practical ethical imperatives that every believer is supposed to carry out in his or her life. Paul said that every believer needs to "rejoice" (v. 16), "pray without ceasing" (v. 17), and "in everything give thanks" (v. 18). I would like to focus on the second ethical imperative that needs to be implemented into our lives ("praying without ceasing" [v. 17]). In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we can learn at least two reasons for why we need to pray.

I. God Wants Us To Call On Him

The first word of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is the word "pray." When we fulfill the divine mandate to pray, we show the Lord that we are willing to depend on Him instead of depending on ourselves. Thus, God wants us to call on Him because it indicates that we understand something about Him that He has known much longer than us. God knows that He never needs us, but we always need Him. The hymnologists expressed this truth when they penned the words, “I need Thee every hour, O, I need Thee” Whenever we call on the Lord, we display our need and dependence on the One who can do far more for us than anything or any person can ever do for us.   

II. God Wants Us To Stay Connected To Him

In the original language, the word "pray" is in the present tense which means that continuous action is to be carried out. Paul said that we are to pray continuously. 

When Paul said, "pray without ceasing," does he mean that we are to verbally talk to God all day long? No! God knows that it is impossible for us to talk with Him without interruptions throughout the course of any given day. So, what did Paul mean when he said, "pray without ceasing"? Paul was not focusing on the activity of prayer; he was focusing on the attitude of prayer. For that reason, Praying Without Ceasing Is Not A Constant Activity, Praying Without Ceasing Is A Constant Attitude. As we maintain an attitude of prayer, we will always find a reason to pray, and we will always be sure to call on Him and stay connected to Him.

Whenever we pray, we need to trust God to give us what is best. In the words of Robert Murray, “God will either give you what you ask, or He will give you something far better.”