Making Prayer A Priority

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.” Jesus communicates God’s expectation for prayer in Matthew 6. In verse 5, He says, “And when you pray . . .” In verse 6, He says, “But you, when you are praying . . .” In verse 7, He says, “And when you are praying . . .” Jesus’ words are clear: God expects us to pray.

Even though the Lord expects us to pray, everyone doesn’t feel inclined to pray. As I exercised with a Christian friend one day in the gym, he shared that his son no longer believes in prayer and doesn’t see a need to pray. I asked for the son’s reasoning and the father replied, “My son said, ‘Prayer is a waste of time, and nothing happens when we pray.’”

Unfortunately, many people share these same sentiments about prayer, and many who feel this way call themselves Christians (even though they may never verbally express these feelings). The absence of prayer demonstrates their inner disposition.

In addition to those who feel like prayer is a waste of time, some think prayer is old fashioned and outdated. I remember reading a story about a farmer 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 confessed that some on his farm didn’t pray before their meals. The sophisticated relative felt justified and 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has been around for a long time, we should never view prayer as something that is a waste of time or old-fashioned and outdated.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 must never forget that prayer is timeless and always needed. Believers need to prioritize prayer consistently. Therefore, there should never be a day when we don’t see prayer as a priority.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul helps us prioritize prayer. In verses 16-18, Paul offers three practical ethical imperatives that every believer should obey. Paul says every believer must “rejoice” (v. 16), “pray without ceasing” (v. 17), and “give thanks” in every situation (v. 18). This writing focuses on the second ethical imperative that needs implementation: “praying without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

The central idea of this article is Prioritizing Prayer Is Not Something We Should Do—Prioritizing Prayer Is Something That We Must Do. How does Paul teach us to prioritize prayer? In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul teaches us three reasons to prioritize prayer.

Reason #1: God Wants Us To Call On Him (1 Thess. 5:14). The first word of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is the word “pray.” In this text, the word “pray” comes from the Greek word proseuchomai, which means to pray to God fervently; to pour out one’s heart and total being to God; to share with God both thanksgiving and petitions.

As believers, we should pray and passionately call on God as we pour out our hearts to Him in prayers of petitions and thanksgiving. Why? We do it because calling on the Lord God acknowledges our dependence on Him. He already knows that we need to depend on Him. Thus, by praying and calling on God, we acknowledge what He already knows we need to do—depend on Him. Prioritizing Prayer Is Not Something We Should Do—Prioritizing Prayer Is Something We Must Do.

Reason #2: God Wants Us To Stay Connected To Him (1 Thess. 5:17). Paul says, “Pray without ceasing….” When Paul says, “pray without ceasing,” does it mean that we are to talk to God all day long verbally? No! God knows that we can’t talk with Him continuously throughout any given day without pausing. So, what does Paul mean when he says, “pray without ceasing”? Paul didn’t focus on the activity of prayer. Instead, he focuses on the attitude of prayer.

I know that sounds contradictory but let me explain. Paul knew that if a believer has the right attitude concerning prayer, that believer will also have the activity of praying and calling on God. In other words, if I believe that calling on God is important, at some point, I will get involved in prayer by calling on the name of the Lord God. As a result, I don’t focus on verbally talking to God all day, but I do focus on keeping the line of communication open through close communion with God. Prioritizing Prayer Is Not Something We Should Do—Prioritizing Prayer Is Something We Must Do.

Reason #3: God Commands Us To Stay Connected To Him (1 Thess. 5:17). When Paul says, “Pray,” he offers an imperative for prayer. Thus, if we don’t obey the imperative for prayer, we commit the sin of omission—we omit something God has told us to do.

Someone may ask: “What if I don’t call on God?” You live in dangerous territory by disobeying God’s command to pray. Calling on God acknowledges that we need Him for resources we could never produce nor supply for our daily sustenance. When we call on Him, we acknowledge and remind ourselves that we cannot find strength, stability, safety, shelter, and most importantly, salvation from sin from any other source but God. That’s why the enemy works hard to keep us from praying. The devil knows that when we call on God, something will happen. When we call on His name, God will respond to His children. He may not respond as we desire, but our heavenly Father will always answer our prayers. No matter how God responds to our prayers, our responsibility is to keep the communication line open and call on Him from an attitude of prayer. To this end, we should never forget an essential method for prioritizing prayer: call on God, stay connected to Him, and obey His command to pray. Prioritizing Prayer Is Not Something We Should Do—Prioritizing Prayer Is Something We Must Do.