Prayer: Pray Without Ceasing

Pray without ceasing.—1 Thessalonians 5:17

I knew of an able preacher greatly used of the Lord in evangelism and Bible conferences. He was a busy, busy man. There came the occasion when someone frankly asked him, "Doctor, tell us about your prayer life. How do you pray? How much do you pray?"

The man was embarrassed as he replied, "I must confess to you something I have not confessed before. I do not have the time to pray as I used to. My time alone with God has been neglected."

Not too long afterward, that preacher sustained a serious failure. It brought his ministry to an abrupt end, and he was put on the shelf.

If we want to be honest with God, we will take solemnly the admonition to pray without ceasing. God's work on this earth languishes when God's people give up their ministries of prayer and supplication. I cannot tell you why this is true, but it is true. Men Who Met God, pp. 46-47

"What a sad statement, Lord: 'I do not have the time to pray as I used to.' Deliver me from that neglect and keep me faithful in this high priority. Then guard me from that 'serious failure.' Amen."