“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 NKJV)

“pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV)

One of the many things that I find to be intriguing about the Bible is its illuminating connectivity. That is, you could read a passage in it that contains certain keywords and glean a simplistic understanding of what it means, but when you read another passage that contains the same keywords or words that are closely associated with them, you suddenly grasp something significant that you hadn’t seen before. Hence the conscience is awakened to a profound thought.

In the scriptures quoted above two ideas stand out that intrigue me. They are as follows:

1. Luke used the words ‘when He ceased’, to refer to what he understood as Jesus’ refraining from praying.
2. Paul used the words, ‘pray without ceasing’, to describe how we ought to live before God.

Now then, I have a question for you: Even though Luke said, ‘when He ceased’, in referring to what he understood as Jesus refraining from praying, do you think Jesus really stopped praying?

Hold that thought for a moment…

Communicating with God Like Jesus

It is obvious to me that when Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray as John taught his disciples, they failed to grasp that His life was the climactic example of prayer.  In other words, when they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, they didn’t realize that He already answered their question through His example of living in complete obedience to the Father and by depending on Him for everything that is needful.

Jesus demonstrated that prayer isn’t merely something that is done on a whim when it feels right to fold your hands and kneel before God; it is a way of life, and more importantly, it is communion with God. And no life but that of Jesus Christ’s has ever so vividly demonstrated what it means to pray without ceasing. He not only looked to the Father for strength, He also honored and glorified Him in everything that He did, as both His thoughts and actions were like a psalm of praise unto Him.

What this means then is that prayer is about looking to and glorifying the Father at every stage of our lives; it’s about taking in all that He desires for us, and enjoying His presence every step of the way; it’s about communicating with God.

With that being said, let’s go back to the question I asked earlier: Do you think Jesus really stopped praying?

If you are unsure about this, then you only need to do two things to find certainty:

1. Look to the life of Jesus Christ as it is disclosed in the Holy Scriptures.
2. Follow His example.

By doing these things you will not only discover the answer to the question, you will also learn what it means to pray without ceasing.

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