Pray without Ceasing

[kh77]

What does it mean to "pray without ceasing"? (1 Thes 5:17)

 

[enoch son]

Tongues. I know you will run out of natural words. It is also a state of mind "YOU HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST".

 

[Oblio]

The Fathers of the Church speak of the Jesus Prayer in regards to this.

The book, The Way of a Pilgim & A Pilgrim Continues His Way details the practice of ceaseless prayer in in 19th c rural Russia. The Jesus Prayer is simply:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner !

 

[enoch son]

Be careful with that pray my brother, if you are all ready saved that is and insult to Jesus. For you are telling him that the cross did not work.

 

[Jim B]

kh77 wanted to know

What does it mean to "pray without ceasing"? (1 Thes 5:17)

From other translations (besides the one Jesus and the Paul used):

Pray continually (NIV)
Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly] (Amplified)
Keep on praying (NLT)
Never stop praying (CEV)
Pray all the time (The Message)

 

[Oblio]

Be careful with that pray my brother, if you are all ready saved that is and insult to Jesus. For you are telling him that the cross did not work.

For most Christians, salvation is a process, not a discrete event, made possible through the Cross and His great mercy

 

[enoch son]

So most christian our wrong. It's by grace not works let any man should boast. I can see a lot of them before him now saying "I belong here cas I lived a christian life". That we go over big time don't you think?

 

[Oblio]

It's by grace not works let any man should boast

Uh ... that is what I said it was.

I can see a lot of them before him now saying "I belong here cas I lived a christian life"

I don't believe that, nor did I say that.

I was just answering the OP on what it means to pray without ceasing, on the off chance that another Christian might be interested.

Peace

 

[Jim B]

Oblio wrote:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner !

enoch son replied:

Be careful with that pray my brother, if you are all ready saved that is and insult to Jesus. For you are telling him that the cross did not work.

e.s., I have to side with Oblio on this one.

John said (1John 1.8-2.1) …
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

We are not sinners, of course, in the sense of being unsaved since the righteousness of the Righteous One has been imputed to those who have believed, but we are sinners in the sense that we still commit sin. It could be perceived as God-honoring to keep that in mind and I think that is what Oblio meant.

Jim

 

[SavedByGrace3]

e.s., I have to side with Oblio on this one.

John said (1John 1.8-2.1) ?
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

We are not sinners, of course, in the sense of being unsaved since the righteousness of the Righteous One has been imputed to those who have believed, but we are sinners in the sense that we still commit sin. It could be perceived as God-honoring to keep that in mind and I think that is what Oblio meant.

Jim

Hello Jim,
Consider this approach to 1 John Chaper 1..



1Jo 1:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

This is a verse that I did understand for a number of years. Something was wrong, and I could never quite comprehend what was being said. On the one hand, I knew we were new creatures, created in Christ Jesus into good works, partakers of the divine nature, after the image of God (2 Cor 5:17-21, Eph 2:10, 2 Pet 1:4, Col 3:10). I knew that because we have this new divine nature, which is the spiritual seed of God, we cannot sin (1 John 3:9, 5:18). We are good trees that cannot put forth evil fruit (Matt 7:18).
So it bothered me for a long time. One night, in the wee hours of the morning, I was in fellowship with the Lord and He just opened up something to me.
Read the verses leading up to 1 John 1:8:

1Jo 1:
5 This is the Message which we have heard from the Lord Jesus and now deliver to you--God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness.
6 If, while we are living in darkness, we profess to have fellowship with Him, we speak falsely and are not adhering to the truth.

The key word is IF.
If we are in darkness and say we still are in fellowship with God, then we are lying. But we are not always in darkness. The normal Christian life is to be in the light with Him.

1Jo 1:
7 But if we live in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

These verses about being sinful as well as those that follow, only pertain to people who find themselves in darkness. If you find yourself in darkness, and claim that you did not get there by sinning, then the truth is not in you. The only way believers get into darkness is by sinning! That is why he says:

1Jo 1
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

In other words, if you find yourself in darkness, and if claim that you have not sinned, then you deceive yourself!

Can you see the difference here? He is not saying that sinning and being in darkness is the normal state of the believer. He is just saying that sin is the only way a person gets into darkness.

 

[Jim B]

Diaskalos wrote:

… Can you see the difference here? He is not saying that sinning and being in darkness is the normal state of the believer. He is just saying that sin is the only way a person gets into darkness.

Hmmmm, d, that is an interesting, if not unorthodox, interpretation of this scripture, which I have never heard before. I will have to chew on this for a while. But thanks for your input.

Jim

 

[Godz Marine]

What does it mean to "pray without ceasing"? (1 Thes 5:17)

kh77,

If we we to "pray" as most consider prayer to be and thus follow Pauls exhortation to "pray without ceasing" we would have no time to share the Gospel, speak to others or simply go about our daily lives.

As we read the Word we can begin to see that there are several types of prayer. We see the mention of prayers of intercession, prayers of supplication, prayers of thanksgiving. The book of Psalms are prayers put in song. David shows us in a good portion of the Psalms that prayer is as simple as just talking with God. That is why we were created, to commune with Him.
To pray without ceasing means at times we ask. At times we thank. At times we stand in the gap for others. At times we are edifying ourselves, our spirit. At times we are building up our faith but most importantly, at times we are simply conversing with the Father in heaven as we would someone here on earth. Whether spoken, in spirit, or in thought, we should always be communing with our Father in heaven. I feel this is what Paul is encouraging us to do.