Pray Without Ceasing

The Sapphire Review Vol. 2 | No. 40 • August 22, 2025

Pray without ceasing.

(1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV)

PAUL’S LIST OF EXHORTATIONS

Our verse today comes from one of my favorite sections of scripture.¹ In particular, one point of significance regarding 1 Thessalonians 5 is that in it, we find one of only a handful of references in scripture where something is stated as being the will of God for us. This occurs in verse 18,² but today I am going to focus on verse 17: “Pray without ceasing.”

However, before jumping into this verse, I would like to draw our attention to something pertaining to the verses before and after it. Here are each of the exhortations given between verses 14 and 22:

• Warn them that are unruly. (v14³)

• Support the weak. (v14⁴)

• Be patient toward all men. (v14⁵)

• Follow that which is good, not rendering evil for evil. (v15⁶)

• Rejoice evermore. (v16⁷)

• Pray without ceasing. (v17⁸)

• In every thing give thanks. (v18⁹)

• Quench not the Spirit. (v19¹⁰)

• Despise not the prophesyings. (v20¹¹)

• Prove all things, holding to that which is good. (v21¹²)

• Abstain from all appearance of evil. (v22¹³)

What a list! Now, the point that I want us to see (setting verse 17 aside), is that every one of these points is can be literally carried out by a born-again Christian, with the help of the Holy Spirit. What I mean by this is that these points are not metaphors, nor are they intentional exaggerations used to communicate greater significance and emphasis.

For example, we’ve probably all heard or used the phrase “this ____ weighs a ton.” It doesn’t really weigh a literal ton, but such language is used for greater emphasis than simply stating that it is “really heavy.”

REFLECTION OF PAST UNDERSTANDING

I considered recently that the way I have viewed the exhortation to “pray without ceasing” in verse 17, has interrupted the pattern of practically feasible items with one that is an intentional exaggeration with the purpose of emphasizing a particular point.

Heretofore, the way that I have viewed this verse was along the lines of continually lifting up my voice in prayer throughout the day or making use of idle moments with prayer. Though both of these points are good, and certainly have their place, neither can be a literal fulfilment of this verse (if indeed that is what Paul was intending to communicate). We must all sleep, eat, read, and interact with others, among other things. In each of these examples, praying has “ceased” during that time.

THE BIBLE DICTIONARY (LINE UPON LINE)

Though there are many examples that we could use, I’ll just take one from Job to show how the Bible defines what it means to cease:

“There the wicked cease from troubling; And there the weary be at rest.” (Job 3:17, KJV)

“Which long for death, but it cometh not; And dig for it more than for hid treasures;” (Job 3:21, KJV)

Here, Job links death as a place where certain activity “ceases.” In other words, it stops and is no more.

So, if Paul is not exhorting us to pray without ceasing in a symbolic sense, thus keeping with the flow of exhortations before and after this verse, what then could he be meaning?

FURTHER CONSIDERATION

As I reflected upon this in my own life and considered testimonies of others, something else came to my mind. There are times in a person’s life where God has undeniably impressed upon their hearts a burden to pray for a particular person or circumstance. He then makes accessible to then, if they will embrace it, a measure of faith that is needed to sustain them while, in hope against hope,¹⁴ they pray and wait patiently for that which they do not yet see.¹⁵

As I considered these things, I concluded that perhaps what Paul is communicating here is that the believer is not to stop praying (in their daily prayers) for something or someone that they have a particular burden for, until they see that prayer answered, Jesus returns, or they have breathed their last breath.

I thought also of the example that Jesus gave, regarding how we should pray, in the illustration of the man who went to his neighbor’s house in the middle of the night earnestly imploring him for bread to give to another. He continued, and would not leave, until the neighbor relented from his opposition and granted the man his request.¹⁶

ANOTHER BIBLE DICTIONARY (LINE UPON LINE)

Lastly, as I was putting together this writing, I wondered if a line upon line¹⁷ look at the scriptures would support my conclusion. As it turns out, the Bible does provide us with a few such examples:

• Samuel never ceased praying for God’s people.¹⁸

• Paul never ceased to pray for churches which he had planted.¹⁹

• Paul, without ceasing, remembered Timothy (who was as a son to him)²⁰ in his daily prayers - night and day.²¹

• The early church prayed without ceasing for Peter, after he was arrested, until the prayer was answered and Peter showed up at the house where they had gathered.²²

CONCLUSION

So, to conclude, we can see how the exhortation to pray without ceasing can literally and practically be carried out in regularly praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ, by daily praying for those we are directly responsible for or closely united to, and by earnestly praying for that which we have been given a burden for - and not stopping until we see the prayer answered.

This indeed is a Biblical way in which we can all pray without ceasing.

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PRAYER

May God help us to be faithful in praying without ceasing for those we are close to and for those we are responsible for. May He also grant us the measure of faith which is needed to pray without ceasing for the impossible things, which only He can do, until we see mountains moved.²³

God Bless,

Charles

SCRIPTURE INDEX / REFERENCES

1. 1 Thes 5:14-23

2. 1 Thes 5:18

3. 1 Thes 5:14

4. 1 Thes 5:14

5. 1 Thes 5:14

6. 1 Thes 5:15

7. 1 Thes 5:16

8. 1 Thes 5:17

9. 1 Thes 5:18

10. 1 Thes 5:19

11. 1 Thes 5:20

12. 1 Thes 5:21

13. 1 Thes 5:22

14. Rom 4:18-21

15. Rom 8:25; Heb 6:15

16. Lk 11:5-10

17. Isa 28:9-10

18. 1 Sam. 12:23

19. Rom 1:9; 1 Thes 1:2-3

20. 1 Tim 1:2

21. 2 Tim 1:3

22. Acts 12:5, 12

23. Mt 17:20-21